Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The First Step Toward an Elite Army
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The once-quiet meeting room was now bustling with noise.
“Ah… this sword is really getting in the way.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Ahem. If it's getting in your way, that just means you need more training!”
By the time I finished my conversation with Sea, the meeting was about to begin.
All my siblings over seventeen, Balseon, Rivera, Kalserik, and the others had gathered.
Kushan City's core members were all present.
In truth, my siblings were just there to observe, filling seats. The actual discussion was between about seven people.
The topic of the meeting was recruiting new warriors.
Rivera opened the discussion.
“Currently, the number of troops that can be mobilized as a regular army in Kushan City is 3,400. When Count Ksias was here, the Kushan territorial army had 7,500, so it’s been reduced by more than half.”
The documents he had prepared laid out the current situation clearly.
‘So we need at least 2,000 more to control the demonic beasts, and at least 7,000 more if we want to take Kashu City, where Ksias’s remnants are hiding? Hmm…’
The reason Sea had stopped me from killing everyone was written clearly on this paper.
Normally, we wouldn't have been able to find even 500 men, let alone 2,000, for a very long time.
Well, that problem was solved in one fell swoop when we discovered Glowingsteel.
Rivera mentioned that as well.
“But we can just recruit more soldiers, so that’s not a concern. Warriors from all over Roverland are already flocking here. The more urgent issue is the lack of high-level combatants, Experts and above. Without them, who are essential for hunting mid-to-large-sized demonic beasts, everything is useless.”
‘Looking at the numbers, it really is serious…’
The more skilled a warrior was, the more likely they were to have been in league with Ksias, committing all sorts of evil deeds, so they couldn't escape the purge.
Low-rank Experts were down by 80, to 100.
Mid-rank Experts were down by 50, to 10.
High-rank Experts were down by 25, to 5.
As for Peak Experts, all six of them had died, leaving only Rivera.
Of course, if you added my siblings and Kalserik’s four subordinates, the situation improved ever so slightly… but it was still far from enough.
After all, we had to think about taking Kashu City.
Balseon chimed in, shuffling through the papers.
“Indeed… it is a problem. Even among Experts, we need to select disciplined elites, but the Experts of Roverland are all so unruly…”
Oh, Balseon!
He had just toned down his words, conscious of Rivera and Kalserik, who were natives of Roverland.
If it were just us, he would have said ‘honorless, bandit-like scoundrels,’ but he softened it to ‘unruly.’
Did he sense it?
Kalserik let out a short laugh.
“You think you can build an army by being that picky? Here in Roverland?”
Oh.
He, too, had just softened his words, considering his position as a de facto prisoner.
Didn't he really want to say, ‘Tsk, these Gloryland pansies… act that uptight around here and you'll get yourself beaten to death’?
In any case,
this was certainly a problem.
I agreed with Balseon.
What I wanted was an army with a clear chain of command and discipline, just like the elite soldiers of Gloryland.
For that, we had to be selective not only with the soldiers but also with the Experts who would be their commanders.
The problem was, we weren't in a position to be picky.
Balseon’s and Kalserik’s gazes met in mid-air.
The atmosphere grew slightly heated.
Rivera tried to smooth things over with a broad laugh.
“Well, we’ll have to find a compromise, won’t we?”
A compromise…
That was the realistic approach.
But,
do we need to be realistic?
There’s a saying for a reason.
When something isn't working out,
ask yourself if it's because you're short on money. A wise observation.
“We’re going to be strict in our selection, for both soldiers and Experts.”
I declared.
There was no room for disagreement.
“Hmm…”
Kalserik frowned.
“Ah, but…”
Rivera let out a troubled laugh.
I spoke solemnly.
“You’re all overlooking one thing.”
Why were they having a power struggle over something like this?
“We have money. A lot of money.”
It was pouring out of the ancient ruins of Glowingsteel!
“We just need to provide clear incentives. Let’s start with this.”
I slapped the documents I was holding onto the desk. Thwack!
“A regular territorial soldier’s monthly salary will be 12 Dallons.”
“!”
“!!”
Not only Kalserik and Rivera, who had been voicing their dissent, but even my own siblings stared with wide eyes.
Even Sea mulled over my words.
“Twelve Dallons. 120,000 As.”
One Dallon was,
10 grams of gold.
To put it another way, it was equivalent to two gold pins, or two 5-gram gold coins.
Most citizens of Kushan City couldn't get their hands on even one Dallon a month after taxes.
Twelve Dallons was,
an enormous sum, requiring 120,000 As, the smallest denomination of currency (a 1-gram iron piece).
Typically, a regular warrior in Roverland earned about 5 to 6 Dallons a month, and only skilled elite warriors barely managed to make 10 Dallons.
So it was no wonder they were shocked by my declaration to pay 12 Dallons to any regular warrior who joined the territorial army.
But that was just the beginning.
“On top of that, elite warriors will receive a monthly salary of 15 Dallons, and upon completing five years of service, they will be granted an ancient sword and armor made of Ruseras steel. High-quality, cleanly repaired, top-grade items.”
“!”
“!!”
This time, everyone’s jaws dropped.
A top-grade ancient sword and armor set was a treasure valued at 1,500 Dallons, but it was an item so rare that you couldn't get it even if you had the money.
And they could get it for free after just five years of service.
Any warrior would go crazy for that.
Tap, tap.
I tapped the desk with the back of my hand to draw their attention.
“How about it? Think they’ll apply even if we’re picky?”
Kalserik and Rivera, who had been arguing against it, were silent.
They just nodded their heads.
See? When you have money, there’s no need to worry.
“Good, it’s decided. Now, let’s set the salaries for the Expert-level warriors. Something truly exceptional.”
Everyone stared at me with exhausted eyes.
They seemed to be thinking this was an excessive investment.
But,
if you want to build a real army, you have to go this far.
An elite regular army that could stand against the Imperial forces, with formations and tactics drilled into their very bones.
The finest troops, capable of executing the strategies and tactics Balseon had thoroughly taught me since I was young.
The war experts who would bring to life the Three-Pronged Strategy that Sea had devised.
This was an investment for that.
***
Notices were posted throughout Kushan City. The new Count Lansen was recruiting a regular army.
“A regular army? Why bother in a mediocre city like this? If you’re going to join up, you might as well go a bit further west and join the Gale King’s army. I hear they’re recruiting on a large scale with good terms these days.”
“Right? Besides, the new count is already throwing money around, so there’s plenty of work to live on. Why join the regular army? So stifling.”
But they didn't know.
They didn't know that the new count had yet to truly start spending his money.
The lukewarm reaction from the warriors changed a full 180 degrees after they actually read the notices.
“Holy shit?!”
“What is this!”
“Did you read that right?”
“Move it, let me see!”
Warriors swarmed like clouds around every recruitment notice.
“A monthly salary of 12 Dallons? Crazy. At this rate, I could work for seven years and retire!”
“Humble, aren't we? I’m going for ten years!”
“You’d have to work for fifteen years to be called rich! Wow… I’ll never have to worry about money again.”
“Huh? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Elite warriors… get ancient equipment…? Is that right?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
The 25,000 warriors who had flocked from all over after hearing news of the ruin excavation were in an uproar.
The entire city was buzzing.
“Wow… I was debating whether to join the Gale King’s army before coming here. I’m so glad I came.”
“You have to do this. If you don't, you might as well cut off what’s dangling below.”
“Right! Whether it’s what’s dangling below or what’s on top, you cut it off! Let’s gooo!”
Men and women, old and young, anyone who lived by the sword had their nostrils flaring.
Applications from warriors began to pour into the recruitment centers set up throughout the city.
***
One week later.
The plaza in front of the lord’s castle in Kushan City.
I looked around at the warriors who had gathered in a dense crowd.
There were a staggering 20,000 of them.
An enormous number, equivalent to 80 percent of all the warriors who had entered the city.
‘But… there are fewer Experts than I thought.’
A quick scan revealed no Peak Experts at all.
I only saw about six High-rank Experts, fewer Mid-ranks than expected, and only a decent number of Low-ranks.
‘This is all because of Gale King Harun.’
The Gale King ruled the Ailun region, west of Kushan City.
He had recently been strengthening his military and recruiting warriors on a massive scale, siphoning off many of the renowned Experts.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, as the pool of Experts I had to choose from was already small, and I had to be selective.
‘Still, I can’t lower my standards.’
I quietly observed the warriors.
As expected of Roverland’s lawless brutes, it was already five minutes to chaos.
“What do you think you’re doing? Are you going to keep an Expert standing here like this!”
“I’ve been a warrior for twenty years, and you’re lumping me in with these greenhorns…”
“What’d you say, old man! Wanna go a round?!”
“You won't know how scary the world is until you're dead, will you?”
Usually, during recruitment, regular warriors, elite warriors (Aura users), and Experts were all selected separately.
But I had ignored all that, gathering every warrior in one place without regard for experience or rank, so it was bound to be noisy.
The Experts, in particular, were highly dissatisfied.
For them, who were treated with respect in any city, being mixed in with regular warriors was an absurd situation.
“Lord, come out here! What is this!”
“I heard the lord was a kid in his twenties, and it seems he doesn’t know a thing! This is a disaster in the making!”
Some even dared to raise their voices, mentioning me by name.
But I didn't bat an eye.
‘Let them talk. You think I offered the best treatment for no reason?’
There was only one thing I wanted to see from them right now.
‘Discipline.’
The self-control to act with restraint and strictly follow the chain of command, rather than acting on a whim.
After going through the trouble of cleaning out all the city’s thugs, I had no intention of letting in a new batch of ruffians.
The selection process that was about to begin was also focused on ‘discipline.’
I slowly climbed onto a pile of rubble from the collapsed lord’s castle.
“Booo—”
“Booo—”
The warriors, thoroughly incensed, booed the ruler of the city without hesitation.
However,
“Attention!!”
KUUUUNG!
“…”
“…!”
At my single shout, everyone who had been jeering fell silent.
My voice, amplified with Aura, had single-handedly overwhelmed the jeers of 20,000 warriors.
The shout was so thunderous that it shook the ground, and the warriors standing close to me turned pale.
Honestly, these guys just keep pushing their luck unless you show them your strength.
I surveyed the warriors with an arrogant gaze.
“The first selection test will now begin. You can see the collapsed castle in front of you.”
The warriors’ eyes shifted to the ruins of Ksias’s castle and the numerous sacks lying before it.
Surely not?
Expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces.
Yep. That’s right.
“From now on, you will move this pile of rubble to the designated location. The weight of the stones you move will be recorded, and the first round of successful candidates will be chosen based on the total weight moved.”
How convenient.
I needed to clear the collapsed castle anyway, and just in time, 20,000 laborers had gathered.
Now they would move the debris to the outer castle area, four kilometers away, on their own.
I planned to recycle the stone to build a residential complex to house the influx of warriors.
This was killing two birds with one stone.
It was also a perfect test.
Carrying heavy stones for four kilometers all day would push their bodies to the limit.
This would allow me to weed out those with poor basic stamina.
Not only that…
“My lord Count. Are you serious or just spouting nonsense?”
It would also allow me to weed out idiots like this one, who couldn't read the room.
“I mean, I have twenty years of experience as a warrior… and you’re telling me to carry stones?”
“What should the Experts be doing? You’ve prepared a separate place for us, right?”
The carrot I had offered was undoubtedly very sweet, but it depended on the person.
There were those with the self-restraint to endure considerable dissatisfaction for that carrot, and then there were those who couldn’t, no matter what.
Elite warriors, and Experts.
Could they endure manual labor like moving stones?
The first test was to gauge their self-control.
Therefore,
I had made up my mind from the start.
“What? Don’t want to move stones?”
I asked a conspicuous Expert, who replied with dissatisfaction.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m an Expert…”
Right. Of course.
Experts. Asymmetrical assets who formed the basis of all tactics and strategy. Key personnel who were treated with respect wherever they went. To tell such people to do manual labor… it would be strange if they accepted it.
That’s why I had decided.
“Aah, you’re too high and mighty to move stones? Then why don’t you stop being a nuisance and get lost right now… would you?”
To be as obnoxious to them as possible.