Inside the main tent,
"Yesterday, Sedecamp handed over the remains of Sir Chevani to Viscount Kenmais, along with the list of over a dozen surrendered Silver Knights and more than a thousand captured soldiers. The ransom for that
Everyone present laughed.
"The Kenmais family and Duke Lugins aren't on the same page. The Kenmais family has set their sights on the eastern regions of the Northland, and they need us and the Duke to fight each other to the death. Naturally, mutual destruction is exactly what they'd hope for most. So this time, when we hand over the prisoner list to them, they'll definitely stir up trouble in the Northland Corps. Even if the Duke is willing to pay ransoms for the dozen-odd Silver Knights, he certainly won't pay ransoms for over a thousand captured Northland Corps soldiers. I believe the Kenmais family won't let this chance slip — shaking the morale of the Northland Corps and eroding their loyalty to the Duke is something every Northland lord would love to see."
"If the Duke wants to send troops against us, he'll first need to settle the prisoner issue. We can even deliberately drag out the negotiations. But it's not as though we fear Duke Lugins's retaliation — every time his army comes, we'll wipe them out. I'd like to see how many times His Lordship the Duke can endure spending huge sums on military expenses only to come up empty-handed. If the Northland Corps is reduced by more than half, how will he still lord it over the Northland? By then, he'll already be unable to suppress those territorial lords, and will barely be able to protect himself," Lorist said with a cold smile.
"Next, we'll use this recovery period to consolidate our family forces, improve soldier training, and boost combat strength in preparation for the battles to come. Sedecamp, read the family force restructuring plan to everyone." Lorist nodded toward Sedecamp.
Sedecamp stood, produced a sheet of animal-skin parchment, and began reading aloud: "Reorganize the guard squad to a strength of one hundred and twenty. Requirements: Black Iron rank battle-qi. Equipment: cavalry shield, lance, chainmail and iron chain armor, personal sidearm of choice, one quiver of javelins, dual mounts. Squad Leader: Pat. Vice Squad Leader: Paulbins."
"Establish an archer cavalry squad. Squad Leader and Instructor: Jossk. Of the twenty-nine wandering knights recruited during the recent tournament, twenty-two skilled archers will all join the archer cavalry squad. Total strength: one hundred and twenty. Requirements: Black Iron rank or above, skilled in archery, proficient in horsemanship. Equipment: chainmail, leather armor, longbow, three quivers of arrows, longsword, arm shield, dual mounts."
Lorist turned to Jossk. "Jo, the archer cavalry squad is in your hands. They'll be the primary offensive force of our family army — make sure you train them well…"
Jossk struck his fist against his left breastplate. "My Lord, I guarantee the archer cavalry squad will become the sharpest blade of our family…"
Sedecamp continued reading: "Establish a cavalry squadron composed of four combat squads and one supply squad, totaling six hundred men. Squadron Leader: Vasingma. Requirements: Bronze rank or above. Equipment: chainmail and iron chain armor, cavalry shield, cavalry lance, personal sidearm of choice, dual mounts.
Establish two guard squadrons. First Squadron Leader: Pachiko. Second Squadron Leader: Ovikis. Organization: four combat squads and one reserve squad, full strength of six hundred men. Squad composition as follows: one sword-and-shield squad, one longbow squad, two spear squads, and one mixed reserve squad. Equipment: iron chain armor, square shields, round shields, spears, longbows, longswords, throwing axes, javelins, and so on.
Additionally, establish two family garrison units composed of personnel who did not make the cut for the above units, with a strength of one hundred to one hundred and twenty each. Equipment: gray leather armor, spears, longswords, longbows, and various shields."
Sedecamp set down the animal-skin parchment, bowed to Lorist, and sat back down.
Lorist looked over his subordinates. "Is everything clear? I want everyone to draw up training proposals and plans as soon as possible and submit them to me for approval. For the two family garrison units, I plan to station one at Maple Forest Manor, with Pachiko serving as acting captain — this garrison will be responsible for defending Maple Forest Manor. As for the garrison at
"I will establish a recruit camp at Rock Fortress, overseen by Sedecamp, Pat, and Paulbins. I will serve as Chief Instructor, and we'll continue recruiting new soldiers into the camp. From now on, all recruits must awaken their battle-qi and familiarize themselves with regulations at the recruit camp. After receiving the most basic military training, they'll be assigned to their respective units based on their aptitudes, until we reach full strength."
"Steward Sper will be in charge of agriculture. The planting and stockpiling of the family's grain supplies will be your responsibility."
"Once we defeat Duke Lugins again, chaos will descend upon the Northland. Without the Northland Corps to keep them in check, ambitious lords will emerge everywhere. Only by preparing in advance can we remain invincible in the coming turmoil and lay the groundwork for expanding our family's territory. I'm counting on all of you." Lorist stood and gave everyone a deep bow.
Everyone rose to their feet and returned the gesture. "My Lord, we will serve you with absolute loyalty."
Lorist clapped his hands. "All right, everyone get to work. Jim and Radi, stay behind."
The others filed out of the tent. Jim said in an aggrieved tone, "My Lord, why haven't you given me an assignment?"
Lorist laughed. "You've been holding it in for a while, haven't you? The reason I didn't assign you anything is because I have a mission for you and Radi to carry out. Radi, when we left the northern caravan, it was February. Now it's almost September, and the caravan still hasn't arrived. I'm quite worried. So I want you and Radi to track down the caravan and find out what's caused the delay. Jim, take a few of the mercenaries who've joined our family along — just act like a mercenary party doing a job. Be careful on the road. Whatever you need, go to Sedecamp to requisition. I've written several letters for you to deliver to Shrade, Bodfeng, Erle,
"Yes, My Lord. We guarantee the mission will be completed." Jim and Radi snapped to attention and saluted.
…
"The walls have fallen! We've broken through!"
"Victory!"
"We've won!"
"…"
The deafening cheers shook the heavens. The nearby guards, swept up in excitement, flung their sun hats into the sky.
On the slopes below, formation after formation raised their banners and waved them frantically, celebrating yet another victory. Atop the hill on horseback, Shrade watched from afar as the former lord's banner was lowered from the castle wall and replaced by the Norton Family's raging bear standard, fluttering high in the wind. But Shrade's expression was far from happy. After a moment of silence, he said to the guard beside him, "Let's go. Back to the tent."
Inside the tent, Erle was reclining on a cushioned couch, reading a knight's novel. His left thigh was wrapped in thick bandages — two months ago, a Silver Knight had opened a deep gash with a lance during battle, and it would take at least another half year to heal.
Shrade strode in with a dark expression. Erle asked curiously, "What's wrong? Didn't we take the castle? Why so glum?"
"Sigh…" Shrade let out a long breath. "I'm not happy at all. We knew it was a trap, but we had no choice but to walk right into it. Being used like this really doesn't sit well."
Erle fell silent too. No one had expected it. The Andinak Kingdom, which they had thought would be a smooth passage, turned out to be fraught with thorns at every step and wolves blocking the way. The northern caravan had been forced to carve out a bloody path.
Three months earlier, the northern caravan had arrived at Benzi Fortress, a border stronghold between the Redilis Kingdom and the Andinak Kingdom that Bodfeng's heavy cavalry had already seized. There, they received a piece of bad news.
Shrade's original plan had been to hand Benzi Fortress over to the Andinak Kingdom's army for defense, so the northern caravan could pass through quickly without worrying about their rear. But Bodfeng, who had arrived earlier at the former capital of the Krisen Empire — now the royal city of the Andinak Kingdom — had failed to meet with Andinak I, the Third Prince. Through inquiries, they discovered that the Third Prince had been bedridden with a serious illness, and the affairs of state were now being handled by the Eldest Prince.
So Bodfeng went to pay a visit to the Eldest Prince, Derwick. But the Eldest Prince refused to send troops to garrison Benzi Fortress, and told Bodfeng that royal authority no longer extended beyond the capital. The various lords of the kingdom had formed a territorial alliance that rivaled the royal house, so there was nothing he could do to help the Norton Family's northern caravan.
Bodfeng then reached out to old acquaintances from the White Lion Legion. The intelligence he received stunned him. The current Andinak Kingdom was practically sitting on the edge of a volcano. The Third Prince had been bedridden for about a year. The Eldest Prince, who had risen to power with the backing of the kingdom's major lords, had become a puppet in the hands of those territorial nobles. Of the three famous legions of the former empire, the White Lion Legion had been disbanded, the Gale Legion had defected to the Meleian Duchy, and the Royal Guard Corps had been reduced to a single battalion, barely protecting the royal house on the meager taxes of the capital.
The former imperial capital, which once boasted a population of over five hundred thousand, now had fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants. The once-bustling commercial streets had become ruins, utterly desolate. Among the kingdoms and duchies that had split from the empire, because the Third Prince represented the legacy of the former imperial house, the Andinak Kingdom had continuously suffered suppression and restrictions from the Forde Commercial Alliance. The kingdom was built on the territories of three of the empire's most commercially prosperous provinces, but without commerce, agricultural output was insufficient to feed the large population, and rebellions erupted frequently. Meanwhile, the territorial lords intensified their exploitation of the common folk and frequently fought each other over territory.
The Third Prince's Andinak royal house had become a mere figurehead, and the Eldest Prince's claim that royal authority didn't extend beyond the capital was entirely accurate. Bodfeng returned to Benzi Fortress in deep concern to discuss countermeasures with Shrade. At that point, neither of them had realized that news of the northern caravan carrying massive quantities of supplies and wealth had already been relayed by the Eldest Prince to the territorial alliance, with the spoils already divided up.
Shrade steeled his heart, abandoned Benzi Fortress, and led the caravan on its way. After just five days of travel, at a place called Qingyeyuan, they ran headlong into an allied noble army marching toward them.
Their terms were simple: surrender two-thirds of all supplies and wealth, and the caravan would be allowed to proceed north.
Shrade immediately rejected the demands of these lord-bandits, and both sides began a standoff at Qingyeyuan. The allied noble army numbered thirty thousand. Although the northern caravan had over fifty thousand people, the family's own fighting force was fewer than fifteen thousand — not even half the enemy's strength.
After more than twenty days of standoff at Qingyeyuan, a pitched battle finally broke out. The allied noble army attacked first but failed to make headway, after which Shrade and Bodfeng launched a counterattack. To everyone's surprise, the thirty-thousand-strong allied army crumbled at the first charge — a classic case of a silver spearhead on a wax shaft. The result was a resounding victory for the northern caravan at the Battle of Qingyeyuan. They captured seventeen thousand prisoners alone, while their own casualties were minimal.
Discovering that the northern caravan's protective family force was so powerful, Shrade and Bodfeng were overjoyed. Shrade hardened his heart and ordered retaliation against the thirty-seven territorial lords. Along the way, every territory belonging to those thirty-seven lords would be conquered — their castles seized, the lords on the list hanged by the roadside, and their supplies, manpower, and grain hauled back to replenish the caravan's provisions.
Attacking these lords' manors and castles did not diminish the northern caravan's military strength. From the seventeen thousand prisoners, Shrade first selected over three thousand who had useful skills — blacksmiths, carpenters, cobblers, tailors, and the literate — and absorbed them into the caravan camp. The remaining fourteen thousand were divided into four suicide battalions, given simple weapons, and driven to attack the lords' castles. Shrade promised that those who earned merit in battle would have their freedom restored and could choose whether to join the caravan heading north to the Northland with their families.
With the assistance of the caravan's military forces, they successfully captured the manors and castles of the first two lords along the way. But an unexpected situation arose: nearly ten thousand refugees gathered behind the northern caravan, hoping to receive its protection and follow it northward to the peaceful and prosperous life in the Northland that Shrade had been proclaiming.
While Shrade was at his wit's end dealing with the flood of refugees, a party arrived at the northern caravan's main camp. At their head was the Third Prince's second son, His Highness the