In the main tent, Josk, Vasima, Overkis, Patko, Pat, Jim, Paul Robbins, Redi, Manager Hansk, Manager Cordan, Manager Spear, Butler Boris, and Sadkamp were sitting in two rows, listening to Lollister's speech. Other than Berrunick, who was preparing to advance to the Gold rank, Father Barlek, who was accompanying Master Sid to explore the iron mines, and Miss Bertha, who was not favored by Lollister, the Norton Family's knights, generals, and administrative officials were all present.
"Yesterday, Sadkamp handed over the Chevani Knight's body to Viscount Gammus, along with a dozen surrendered Silver-tier Knights and a list of over a thousand captured soldiers. The ransom for the Gold-tier Knight Henned needs to be discussed with Duke Lujins. I estimate that we will have two to three months to recuperate this time. It will take some time for the Duke to react to the news of his army's annihilation. He will not be able to send his army for revenge immediately. He will have to consider how many soldiers to send. If it's too few, we might be able to wipe them out. If it's too many, I doubt he will be willing to fork out such a large sum of money. " Lollister said.
Everyone in the room laughed.
"The Gammus Family and Duke Lujins are not on the same side. The Gammus Family is now turning their attention to the eastern part of the North. They also need us to fight the Duke to the death. Of course, they want both sides to suffer losses. So this time, when we give them the list of captives, they will definitely cause a stir in the Northern Army. Even if the Duke is willing to pay the ransom for a dozen Silver-tier Knights, he will definitely not be willing to pay the ransom for over a thousand captured soldiers. I believe the Gammus Family will not let go of this opportunity to shake the morale of the Northern Army and reduce their loyalty to the Duke. This is a reality that every Northern Lord would be happy to see. "
"If the Duke wants to send his army for revenge, he will have to settle the matter of the captives first. We can even delay this negotiation. But we are not afraid of Duke Lujins' revenge. Every time his army comes, we will destroy them. I'd like to see how many times the Duke can endure spending a large sum of money for nothing. If the Northland Army is reduced by half, how will he still be able to command the Northlands? I believe that by that time, he will no longer be able to suppress the nobles, and will not be able to protect himself. "Laurist laughed coldly.
"Next, we need to make use of this rest period to consolidate our family's armed forces, improve the training of our soldiers, and increase their combat power in preparation for the upcoming battle. Thurdkamp, read out the Family Armed Reorganization Plan to everyone. "Laurist nodded to Thurdkamp.
Sadekamp stood up and took out a piece of beast hide paper and began to read: "Assemble a small team of 120 guards. Requirements: Iron-rank combat energy. Equipment: Cavalry shields, spears, mail and chain armor. Choose your own weapon, one javelin, two mounts. Captain, Pat. Vice-Captain, Paul Robbins. "
"Set up a cavalry archer squad. Captain and instructor, Josk. Out of the 29 wandering knights recruited by the Knights Tournament, 22 archers will join the cavalry archer squad. There will be a total of 120 people. The requirements are that they must be at least Iron-ranked and skilled in archery and horse-riding. Equipment: Chain armor, leather armor, longbows, three quivers of arrows, longswords, arm shields, two mounts. "
Laurist said to Josk: "Joe, I'll leave the small team of archers to you. This is the main force of our family's armed forces. You must train them well …"
Josk knocked his left chest plate with his fist: "Sir, I promise that the small team of archers will become the sharpest blade of our family …"
Sadekamp continued to read: "Assemble a cavalry platoon, with four squads of warriors and one platoon of supplies. Total strength: 600. Squadron leader Vasinma. Requirements: Bronze rank or above. Equipment: Chain armor and chain armor, cavalry shields, spears, choose your own weapon, two mounts.
Assemble two guard platoons. First platoon leader Pachko, second platoon leader Ovis. Formation: Four squads of warriors, one reserve squad. Total strength: 600. Formation: One squad of sword-and-shield soldiers, one squad of longbowmen, two squads of pikemen, and a mixed reserve squad. Equipment: Chain armor, square shields, round shields, spears, longbows, longswords, throwing axes, javelins, etc …
In addition, form two more guard platoons, made up of those who failed to be selected. Total strength: 100 to 120. Equipment: Gray leather armor, spears, longswords, longbows, various shields. "
Sadekamp put down the beast skin paper, saluted Laurist, and sat down.
Laurist looked at his subordinates: "Is everyone clear? I hope that everyone can come up with a training plan as soon as possible and submit it to me for approval. As for the other two guard platoons, I plan to arrange a team from Maple Forest Villa. First, Pachko will be the captain. This team will be responsible for guarding Maple Forest Villa. As for this team from Monolith Castle, they will be responsible for law and order, patrolling, guarding the warehouse, and other matters. Ovis will be the captain. Currently, we do not have enough armed soldiers. Even if we are not at full strength, we need to start training first.
"I will form a recruit camp in Monolith Castle. Sadekamp, Padt, and Paul Binns will be in charge. I will be the chief instructor and continue to recruit new soldiers. In the future, all new soldiers will awaken their combat energy in the recruit camp and familiarize themselves with the rules. After receiving the most basic military training, they will be assigned to different units according to their specialties until they are at full strength.
"In addition, Steward Hansk will be our family's accountant, responsible for financial and material statistics and distribution. Butler Boris will be in charge of civil and business management. Sadekamp will be in charge of the military equipment. Steward Cordan will be in charge of affairs and the management of the captive camp. When Old Man Barlek returns, he will be in charge of the production and manufacturing of equipment. Steward Spear will be in charge of agriculture. You will be in charge of the planting and storage of the family's food.
"Once we defeat Duke Lujins again, the Northern Lands will be in chaos. Without the suppression of the Northern Army, those ambitious lords will appear. Only by making preparations can we remain invincible in this chaotic world and lay the foundation for the family to expand. Please, everyone. "Laurist stood up and bowed deeply to everyone.
Everyone stood up and bowed back to Laurist: "My lord, we will be loyal to you."
Laurist clapped his hands: "Alright, everyone, go back to work. Jim and Redi, stay behind. "
Everyone left the tent. Jim felt wronged: "My lord, why didn't you arrange for me to do anything?"
Laurist laughed: "You've endured for a long time, haven't you? I didn't arrange for you to do anything because I have a mission for you and Redi to complete. Redi, it was February when we left the northbound caravan. It's almost September now, but the caravan hasn't arrived yet. I'm very worried. That's why I asked you and Jim to track down the caravan and see what caused it to be delayed for so long. Jim, bring a few mercenaries who joined the family with you. Treat it like a group of mercenaries on a mission. Be careful on the road, and if you need anything, go to Sadekamp. I've written a few letters for you to bring to Shredder, Boddfinger, El, Telman, and Yuri. Tell them that I miss them. Oh, there's also a letter for Howard and Elisa. "
"Yes, my lord. We promise to complete the mission." Jim and Redi saluted.
… …
"The city has been breached. We've attacked!"
"We've won!"
"We've won!"
"… …"
The cheers were deafening. The guards at the side were so excited that they threw their hats into the sky.
The phalanxes at the foot of the hill raised their flags and waved them with all their might, celebrating another victory. Shredder, who was riding on his horse, looked at the castle in the distance. The flag of the original lord was lowered, and the flag of the Norton family, the Raging Bear, was inserted high above. However, Shredder's expression did not look good. After a moment of silence, he said to the guards beside him: "Let's go back to the tent."
In the tent, El was lying on a soft couch, reading a knight's novel. His left thigh was wrapped in thick bandages. It was a wound caused by a Silver-tier knight's lance two months ago. It would take at least half a year to recover.
Shredder came in with a dark expression. El asked curiously: "What's wrong? Didn't we conquer the city? Why are you so unhappy? "
"Sigh …" Shredder let out a long sigh: "I'm not happy at all. We knew that it was a trap, but we still had to jump into it. It's really annoying to be used like this."
El was silent as well. No one expected that the Andinac Kingdom, which was supposed to be a smooth road, would be filled with thorns. The convoy had no choice but to fight their way out.
Three months ago, the convoy arrived at Benzburg, the border fortress between the Redelis Kingdom and the Andinac Kingdom. It was occupied by Bofinger's armored cavalry. However, they heard bad news.
Shredder's original plan was to let the Andinac Kingdom's army defend Benzburg. Without any worries, the convoy could quickly pass through the Andinac Kingdom. However, Bodefinger, who had arrived at the former capital of the Calisen Empire and was now the capital of the Andinac Kingdom, did not see Andinac I, the third prince. After asking around, he found out that the third prince was bedridden, and the kingdom's affairs were handled by the crown prince.
Therefore, Bofinger went to see His Highness Delwick, but the prince refused to send troops to defend Benzburg. He told Bofinger that the king's orders were not allowed to leave the royal city, and that all the lords of the kingdom had formed an alliance to fight against the royal family. Therefore, he could not help the Norton family's northbound convoy even if he wanted to.
Bofinger then contacted his old acquaintances in the White Lion Legion, and the news he received shocked him. The Andinac Kingdom was sitting on the edge of a volcano. The third prince had been bedridden for about a year, and the crown prince, who relied on the various lords of the kingdom to rise to power, had become a toy in the hands of the nobles. The White Lion Legion, one of the three famous legions of the empire, had been disbanded, the Gale Legion had defected to the Melaine Duchy, and the Royal Guards had been reduced to a single brigade. They barely protected the royal family with the meager taxes from the imperial capital.
The imperial capital, which used to have a population of more than five hundred thousand, now had less than fifty thousand people. The bustling commercial streets were in ruins. Among the kingdoms and duchies that split off from the empire, the third prince had always been suppressed and restricted by the Ford Commercial Union because he represented the inheritance of the former royal family. The Andinac Kingdom was built on the territory of the three most prosperous provinces of the former empire, but without commerce, the agricultural output was not enough to feed the large population, and riots occurred frequently. The nobles of the territories increased the oppression and exploitation of the people, and often fought over territories.
The third prince's Andinac royal family had become a decoration, and the crown prince's words about the king's orders not leaving the capital were true. Bofinger, who received the news, returned to Benzburg worriedly to discuss countermeasures with Shredder. At that moment, they did not expect that the news of the convoy carrying a large amount of resources and wealth would be reported to the Lords Alliance by the crown prince, and the distribution of the spoils was decided.
Shredder hardened his heart and abandoned Benzburg, leading the convoy on the road. Unexpectedly, after five days of travel, they encountered the nobles' coalition army in a place called Greenfield Plain.
This was a nobles' coalition army composed of thirty-seven nobles of the Lords Alliance, with a military force of up to thirty thousand people. Their purpose was to rob. But after suffering a few losses in the battle, they changed their mind and demanded that the convoy hand over two-thirds of the resources and wealth before they could let the convoy go north.
Shredder immediately rejected the demands of these lords and bandits, and both sides began to confront each other in Greenfield Plain. At that time, the nobles' coalition army had thirty thousand people, and although the convoy had more than fifty thousand people, the family armed forces were less than fifteen thousand people, almost half of the number of troops.
After more than twenty days of confrontation in Greenfield Plain, a battle finally broke out. First, the nobles' coalition army failed in their attack, and then Shredder and Bofinger launched a counterattack. Unexpectedly, the thirty thousand nobles' coalition army was defeated as soon as they charged. They were a typical silver spear with a wax shaft. In the end, the battle in Greenfield Plain resulted in a great victory for the convoy, and they captured seventeen thousand captives while suffering only minor casualties.
When Shredder and Bofinger found out that the family armed forces protecting their convoy were so powerful, they were overjoyed. Shredder ruthlessly ordered to retaliate against these thirty-seven nobles. Along the way, as long as they passed through the territories of these thirty-seven nobles, they would capture all the castles, hang the nobles on the list by the roadside, and transport their resources, personnel, and food back to replenish the convoy's consumption.
Attacking the manors and castles of these nobles did not affect the strength of the convoy's armed forces. Shredder first selected more than three thousand skilled people from the seventeen thousand captives, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, and those who were cultured, to fill in the gaps. Then, he divided the remaining fourteen thousand captives into four daredevil battalions, gave them simple weapons, and ordered them to attack the castles of the nobles. He also promised to restore their personal freedom if they made contributions, and they could also choose whether or not to join the convoy and bring their families to live in the North.
With the aid of the convoy's armed forces, they successfully conquered the manors and castles of the first two lords they passed by. However, something unexpected happened. Nearly ten thousand refugees gathered behind the convoy. They hoped to receive the convoy's protection and follow the convoy to the North to live a peaceful and blissful life in the North that Shredder had preached.
While Shredder was busy dealing with the refugees following him, a group of people arrived at the camp of the convoy. The leader was the second son of the third prince, the second prince, Ogseiro. Beside him was a black-haired female Golden Knight. Her name was Norton Christie.
…
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