"When are we going to retrieve the God Equipment of the Elements?"
His High Elf form didn't have the elegance unique to his species. The storms around him made his anxiety obvious. As time passed, the Wind Elemental God Kamdiran's patience was wearing thin.
"When are we going to Dragon World? The elders are all waiting. You should have finished reading the information already. "
This time, it wasn't the always smiling Copper Dragon that came to rush me. The cold Blue Dragon Evelyn surprised everyone.
"… Your Highness, when are we going to repair the Earth Elemental Throne?"
The Great Stone Sculptor was also quite anxious. From a certain standpoint, she had been in a state of excitement ever since she learned that she was the top candidate for the Earth Elemental Throne.
"Just wait. How are we supposed to fight the boss if we don't have enough people?"
That's right, I wasn't going to sacrifice myself for the Snake Archduchess and the other two. Since I already knew how ridiculously powerful the enemies we were going to be facing would be, how could I possibly start an expedition to another world when I didn't have enough combat strength?
"Perhaps this is the true test of the Holy War."
This time, I had put in a lot of effort. Judging from the combat strength I had gathered, I had sent out my full strength. There were indeed many people here, but after reorganizing them, I divided them into three main groups.
The first group was the former Mist Kingdom's Royal Knight, the undying undead warriors. There were nearly 25,000 of them, and they were my most trusted Knight Knight. They were also the strongest existences, and quite a few of them had reached Valkyrie's power level. They would forever be my strongest trump card.
Due to the trouble of being undead, only about 2,000 of them were active on the surface. They were all involved in the Mist Alliance's construction. Some of them were serving as instructors and team leaders for the various combat squads in Donglan, while others were active in the Undead Kingdom of Xilu. They were currently attempting to rebuild the Yongye army. Of course, unlike the chaotic alliance of Undead Lords, this army was my personal army.
Their battle flag was the traditional Mist War Flag. That was a remnant of the past, as well as a symbol of the glory of inheritance. When they made up their minds to wave their swords, when this old war flag once again flew in the air, the undying who were unwilling to die here would use blood and fire to remind them of what it meant to be a warrior's glory and an undying knight.
Although this was my strongest trump card, it was also the most inconvenient to use. Just summoning them would cause countless countries to be highly vigilant.
That was why I could only have most of my members train their combat techniques in the Underground World. But recently, they had an additional responsibility — to train and train the newcomers. Not only would they inherit combat techniques and abilities, but they would also inherit honor and inheritance.
This time, I had gathered a total of six thousand undead knights through the Mizar and the recently completed Greedy Wolf Airship No. 1. I had also relied on Bardi's reputation and guarantee to have these two magic bone airships surrounded by black mist pass by various countries.
If the "Red Hunting Hounds" were the most inconvenient but most trustworthy force in my arsenal, then the combat strength below me was probably the most convenient but least trustworthy force in my arsenal.
"Oh my, why are there two eggs and a chicken drumstick for lunch today?"
"Don't you know? To celebrate the official establishment of the Northlands Mist Family, there's going to be an extra meal for lunch and an extra bottle of ale for dinner. "
"… Has His Highness Roland finally made up his mind? Wait a moment, isn't this a super joyous occasion? A celebratory banquet and revival ceremony? Our boss is a living legend. As long as he says the word, all the mega empires will probably send people over, right? Could it be that the official celebration has been delayed? "
Normally speaking, a family's revival and establishment would be the most important event. Inviting guests would be quite simple, but it would be quite common for a family to celebrate for an entire year and spend all the taxes they had earned from their territories for the past three years.
This wasn't just for the sake of reputation, but also to show off the family's connections and foundational power.
"No, having an extra meal for lunch is already a celebration. His Highness Roland said that he's been busy recently and that his career is more important, so he wants to skip the formalities. Is that enough?"
"… Why do I feel like he thinks it's too troublesome?"
"… I think so as well. He's our boss, after all, so he's different from the rest. However, there are some things that he doesn't skip. You know the fifth son of the Eston Family, right? "
"That crippled fifth son? Didn't he retire to the second line after he lost his leg in the Northlands beastmen war? His second son also died in that meat grinder battle. How pitiful. "
"… His Highness Roland made him a Knight. At the very least, he won't have to worry about starving to death for the rest of his life."
"We're so lucky. His Highness Roland is starting to confer Knight titles? That's wonderful! Do we have hope? Forget it, we're just Bronze-ranked warriors. It won't be our turn no matter what. Just pretend I didn't say anything. "
According to the rules of Eich, the lowest rank that could be conferred as a Knight title would be at least Silver-ranked. This was something that ordinary people wouldn't be able to achieve even if they worked hard for their entire lives.
"His Highness Roland is different from others. He doesn't care much about power levels. Instead, he cares about achievements! The first batch has thirty people. Our mercenary group has sixteen people! All of them have first-class achievements. The ones who self-destructed in the Titan Mecha are all here. We only have a third-class achievement each. Don't count on us this time. "
"But at least there's hope! Ahh, fifth son is so good. Even if he can't go to the battlefield in the future, just this title alone will be enough for him to eat for the rest of his life. "
"Hmph, don't look down on the crippled fifth son. If he wasn't as ruthless as you, how could he have received the Bloodnight Medal? That old fellow has been nagging those goblins in the Magic Research Institute's mechanical division every day. He's forcing them to take out artificial limbs with cannons. That old fellow doesn't plan on being a Knight to the end. He wants his own son to become a Knight. "
The lowest rank of Knight Viscounts didn't have the right to inherit their titles. Only Barons could inherit their titles. However, if they didn't have any military achievements, their title would be demoted. That was why, generally speaking, Barons were the true nobility that was recognized by the public.
A small Knight title, even if they were lucky enough to obtain a piece of land, would at most be a village with thirty to fifty households. Perhaps this wasn't worth mentioning to strong people. However, for mercenaries who fought on the battlefield, it was a lifelong dream.
That's right, mercenaries — mercenaries from the super mercenary group, the Absolute Gentlemen Alliance.
Although I wanted to talk to them about shared ideals and the beautiful dream of saving the world, as well as the impending long night, for them, ideals were nothing more than the extravagant wishes of nobles who didn't have to worry about their stomachs. Only a stable income and the opportunity to become a noble would be their lifelong dream.
As for Armageddon? If they didn't have enough to eat or were fatally injured, or if they were disabled and didn't have enough money saved up for retirement, every day would be Armageddon.
"Mercenaries aren't trustworthy."
This was the common opinion of mercenaries in every country about mercenaries who worked for money. And in most situations, they weren't wrong at all.
As mercenaries who fought for money, they naturally had to think about their own futures. If they fought to the death or became disabled, their savings wouldn't even be enough for the rest of their lives. And as a warrior on the battlefield, it was absolutely necessary to lack the will to fight. When an ace Knight squadron was able to hold on for 70% of the time, these mercenaries who worked for money would collapse at 10% of the time. If they relied too much on mercenaries, it would become a weakness of their army.
"No matter how strong their combat strength is, it's impossible to trust or have high hopes for them."
And since mercenaries worked for money, if the enemy offered a higher price, there were plenty of examples of entire mercenary groups betraying each other. It was even easier for individual mercenary groups to betray or be bribed. That was why for large-scale battles, even if these mercenary groups obtained permission to participate, they would only serve as cannon fodder.
This was what mercenaries were — vultures on the battlefield who fought for benefits. They weren't bound by the Knight's Creed, and were more practical than anything else. But as long as they were given enough food, they would become vicious lions.
Ordinary mercenary groups wouldn't accept battlefield missions that had a high death rate. However, there were also some battlefield mercenary groups that would choose to roam the cliffs even if they were cannon fodder. Apart from the fact that these battlefield missions offered incredibly high rewards, it was even more likely that they would be taken over by a major noble if they were recognized.
If they became a major noble's private army, the mercenary group's higher-ups would have the opportunity to become nobles, and the ordinary warriors would also become regular soldiers. At the very least, they would have military pay and pension in case they were disabled or died in battle.
However, the Absolute Gentlemen Mercenary Alliance was slightly different from ordinary mercenary groups.
The tree planted intentionally wouldn't grow, but the willow planted unintentionally would grow. This mercenary group that had been created as a joke had actually become stronger and stronger in recent years.
The mercenary group's leader was me, and they could be called my personal soldiers. Their fighting spirit and loyalty far surpassed that of ordinary private soldiers.
As the Absolute Gentlemen Mercenary Alliance expanded their range of operations, with the support of the Northlands countries, their mercenary group now had offices in more than thirty countries. In fact, they even had seventeen large-scale mercenary groups in each country. Their total number of registered mercenaries now exceeded three hundred thousand.
More than seventy percent of the mercenaries were from Donglan or Sleuweir. It could be said that more than eighty percent of the members were People of the Mist. They were willing to join this mercenary group not only because this mercenary group had excellent treatment and reputation, but also because they trusted me as the leader of this mercenary group. They believed that I would give them a bright future.
In the past battles, they had indeed performed quite well. No matter if it was the bloody battles against the beastmen in the Northlands or the continuous battles in the South, they had always displayed sufficient loyalty and ability.
But as mercenaries, they naturally had their own expectations. They hoped that they would have a bright future, rich rewards, and a chance to return home in glory.
Of course, these mega-large-scale mercenary groups were also divided into different levels. Those on the outside only needed ability and a clean reputation, but after a certain level of development, the core combat groups would always be the core.
As for the warriors who had displayed sufficient ability and loyalty in the past, the mercenary group would sign long-term contracts with them for twenty, thirty, or even fifty years. If they broke the contract, they would no longer need to work as a mercenary. They would basically never need to think about jumping around in the future. And while they received rewards and protection, they would also repay the responsibilities and requirements of the long-term contract.
Actually, these mercenaries who had signed long-term contracts known as "lifetime contracts" didn't even consider themselves to be mercenaries in their words or actions.
"We're all warriors of His Highness Roland. It's just that it's not convenient for us to form a combat group right now."
"No matter what, we're all warriors of His Highness. There are some things that we need to pay attention to. At the very least, we can't stain that battle flag."
And now, the conferment of Knight titles and the raising of the Mist Family's flag seemed to prove this saying. And so, countless mercenaries were applying for long-term contracts within the mercenary group.
And now, after the news that I had decided to rebuild the Northlands' Mist Family spread, the number of new applications to join the mercenary group increased by nearly twenty thousand in just three short days. And when the news that I had conferred sixteen Knight titles from my mercenary group spread, the number of new applications to join the mercenary group increased by fifty thousand.
From a certain standpoint, since I didn't have a territory, wasn't a king, and wasn't loyal to any domain lord, I couldn't even be considered a pure nobleman. Logically speaking, I also didn't have the right to confer Knight titles. However, it seemed that no matter if it was outsiders or my subordinates, all of them ignored this most basic of noble conventions.
Of course, I wasn't going to make empty promises. The Knight titles that I conferred would be recognized by the various countries in the Northlands. And after they achieved enough meritorious deeds to become noblemen, I would think of a way to help them obtain their own territory. (Only barons and above would be able to obtain a territory, but usually only Counts with military achievements would be able to do so, and the success rate would be extremely low.)
This time, the Borealis had brought over five thousand and six hundred long-term contracts with me. It didn't seem like much, but the fact that they were able to pass through so many tests and sign a long-term contract already proved their abilities and loyalty. Their average power level had reached the astonishing Bronze rank. From a certain standpoint, they were indeed my core private troops.
Now that the situation had developed to such a degree, perhaps it was also the best evidence of the usefulness of reputation and legitimacy. In the Donglan capital Diffindor and the Sleuweir capital Antoon, all sorts of rumors of "grand chess moves" and "premeditated plots" were spreading all over the streets. Even the peddlers on the street corners were saying things like "Prince Roland used the name of a mercenary group to gather the warriors who yearned for the Mist's battle flag," and "The royalty of the Northlands and Northlands hated this sort of stealing, but couldn't do anything about it." "Not only are there the Four Elemental Swordcasters and Magic Archers among those mercenaries, there's even an Aurora Knight. How could these ace troops possibly be wild? It's so obvious, and they still dare to call themselves mercenaries."
Actually, I had only intended to make a joke at the time. In fact, I didn't even manage the development of the mercenary group for a long period of time. Being able to develop to this point, apart from the fact that those mercenaries were truly powerful, perhaps it was purely due to the People of the Mist's trust in that tattered battle flag.
"He's our prince, and he'll lead us to a better life."
"Yep, it's because of his arrival that we've had the most comfortable winter in the past fifty years. This year, not a single person froze to death on the streets, and the people who moved to other places have all returned to their homeland."
It would be a joke if I said that I was able to attract so many People of the Mist to fight for me just based on my reputation and so-called legitimacy of the Mist Family. However, the Northlands Mist Family's accumulated honor and trust over the past two thousand years was my most valuable asset, yet also a heavy burden that made it hard for me to breathe.
"… Not to mention a mercenary group, even if you used your own name and that battle flag to open a circus, it would still be filled with People of the Mist. If you don't believe me, you can ask your Undead Knight. They've long since reached the level of blind loyalty where they don't ask 'why,' but only 'what to do.' "
I didn't know how to respond to Harloys's teasing. I knew that she was telling the truth.
As for their trust, the only thing I, a fallen prince who couldn't even protect my home, could do to repay them was to think of a way to lead them through this calamity that was akin to Armageddon.
"Perhaps the future will be difficult, but at least … at least we'll all be together."
Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, they were still nothing more than mercenaries. However, these young people who had given their lives to me were already a part of me.
The Absolute Gentlemen Alliance's battle flag was a black ball mask. As for what it symbolized, there were countless theories on the market. But at the time, I had only used this flag because I wanted to remind those bastards who had already become the core members of my mercenary group, "Remember to wear a mask when you're doing something bad. I don't want to go to the police station to take someone away."
As for things like "gazing at the light in the darkness," "a person who's resolved himself to lose everything," "a night ranger who doesn't need a face," and so on, those were obviously just exaggerated explanations.
Apart from the Red Hunting Hounds and the Absolute Gentlemen Alliance, the third largest organization was the Magic Engineering Research Institute and the Schindler Merchant Group, which were also known as the "Magic Research Institute."
They were already at the forefront of the new generation. Not only were they the dawn of the new generation, they were also the logistics department of the Mist Faction that was gradually becoming more united. Not only were they researchers, but they also had the Four Elemental Swordcasters, magic archers, great engineers, and great alchemists.
The Borealis, Avarice, and Mizar were three super battleships, as well as six medium-sized battleships and three-digit small battleships. They had a total combat strength of thirteen thousand people, sixty-seven great engineers who were at least Gold rank, four hundred and twenty-seven engineering and alchemy experts, and countless war machines. This was more than enough to start a small-scale war on the scale of a small country.
Of course, after investing so much, I hoped to obtain even more … so much more that even I felt like I was being too greedy.
"I think that if those dragons know what you're planning, they'll definitely think of a way to kill you. Since you're after their most precious treasure, wouldn't they be opening the door to a thief? "
"… I think so as well. But by the time they find out, I should have already achieved my goal. Besides, it would be a waste to give them a treasure of this level, so I might as well make the best use of it. After all … "
"… Winter's coming?"
I shook my head. If it was winter, then it sounded like spring wasn't far away. But when I looked at my timeline, I couldn't see any signs of spring's arrival, and I didn't have much time left.
"… If I really had to describe it, I would probably say that the apocalypse is coming. Still, it's already so much better than in the game's history. At the very least, we still have hope this time, as long as my plan can be realized. "
"Then, how confident are you in your plan?"
"I really want to say one hundred percent, but unfortunately, even ten percent is too much."
"But at least it's not completely hopeless."
I looked out the window at the trees that had just sprouted. This seemed like a rare good omen.
"Yeah, at least it's not completely hopeless. And this time, our goal is to create our own hope so that our future days will be easier. "
"Even if it means destroying other people's hope?"
"Of course."
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