The old man was very grateful and held Beffman's hand with tears in his eyes. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that someone would stand up for a commoner like him and even give him gold.
Soon, the bandits were tied up and nailed to wooden stakes by Beffman's brothers. They were beaten until they were on the brink of death.
After that, Beffman took his men to the other villages to distribute the gold. The villagers treated Beffman and the others with respect and treated them like messengers sent by the gods.
Seeing the joy on the villagers' faces, Beffman finally understood why Merlin had asked him to do that.
"Brother Beffman, I feel like we've done a good deed," one of the brothers said.
"The money was earned by the nobles from exploiting the commoners. We're just returning it to its rightful owner."
At the same time, in the main hall of Haiya Castle.
"Trash, a bunch of trash," Count Steve said angrily as he grabbed the collar of the commander that Darlina had released.
"Yes, Sir." The commander's face was pale with fright.
"From today onwards, you're demoted to second lieutenant. Report to the infantry division immediately." Steve couldn't be bothered to deal with the commander anymore.
"Eight chests of gold! That idiot actually let them fall into the hands of bandits. Son, find out which bandits are so bold as to target my troops' pay. I won't let them get away with it, "Steve said to Baron Sedak, who was standing beside him.
"Yes, Father."
After the first victory, Merlin's trust in Gravel increased a lot. At the same time, he appreciated the young man.
"Gravel, we've robbed the empire's army of their pay. They won't let us off easily. What should we do next?" Merlin asked Gravel.
"Merlin, we'll distribute the gold to the villagers. They'll definitely respond to us. We'll then be able to recruit more soldiers to strengthen our forces."
"I'll leave that to you."
More than a month had passed, and the cold winter gradually faded away. What came along was the warm spring and blooming flowers.
The refugee camp was full of life. Everyone was busy with their own things. In the past month or so, the refugee camp had undergone a lot of changes.
First, the refugee camp was renamed to "Wilson's Resistance Army Camp". The Wilson Resistance Army was made up of the original armed members of the camp and the villagers who came to seek refuge. They built fences and gates and other defensive structures around the camp. They also set up sentries and watchtowers in places where the enemy might attack. They also buried many traps.
At the same time, the elderly, women, and children in the camp were responsible for developing handicrafts and farming. This way, all the men could become warriors and receive specialized training.
Furthermore, Gravel had also reorganized the Wilson Resistance Army according to the Empire's official army.
Just like that, under the leadership of Gravel and Merlin, the originally disorganized villagers were reorganized into an organized and disciplined army.
Due to Beffman's gold distribution operation, the Wilson Resistance Army's reputation had spread far and wide in the surrounding villages. Many ambitious youths and peasants who were oppressed by the nobles joined Wilson's resistance army.
In short, after Gravel's reform, the Wilson Resistance Army camp had undergone earth-shaking changes. Now, there were about 1,500 infantrymen, 300 archers, and 200 cavalrymen in the camp.
The food stored in the camp was enough to feed them for a year. It could be said that the strength of the resistance army was the strongest in the Northland area.
After everyone's discussion, they recommended Merlin as the marshal of the Wilson Resistance Army, Gravel as the general of the resistance army, and Beffman as the deputy general.
The act of the Wilson Resistance Army occupying the mountain attracted the attention of the upper nobles of the Empire. They thought that Merlin's behavior would lead others to follow suit, which would cause the nobles to suffer losses.
Therefore, several nobles ordered Count Steve to immediately lead the army to encircle the group of "bandits".
"This group of bandits robbed my army's pay and dared to openly occupy the mountain. There is also a boy among them who made my son suffer such a thing. This is an irreconcilable grudge!" Count Steve was overjoyed when he received the secret order from the Empire's royal family.
Not only did the Empire's royal family send a secret order, but they also sent an infantry regiment of about 800 men as reinforcements to cooperate with Count Steve's operation.
Wilson was not idle either. From the news sent back by the spies planted in various places, Merlin and the others knew about the encirclement plan, so they began to prepare for the battle.
The Resistance Army's camp was bustling with activity as the soldiers carried out their training meticulously.
In the past few days, Gravel had led the newly formed cavalrymen to rob the nearby Empire's caravans. Even Tonny, who did not like to practice martial arts, had recently strengthened his training in throwing knives.
Three days later, before the early morning fog had dispersed, the dull sound of a horn cut through the silence of the morning.
A sentinel standing on the watchtower of Haiya Castle saw a group of about 800 soldiers of the Empire's infantry marching in the direction of their castle in the distance. They were disciplined, and their pace was neat.
"Quick, report to the captain that an army is approaching the castle." The sentinel asked his companion to go forward and report to the officer.
"Open the gates." After a while, the man said to the sentinel with the officer's order.
With a creak, the heavy city gate slowly opened. The eight hundred soldiers of the Empire's infantry regiment walked into the castle under the lead of the officer in charge.
Count Steve brought his personal guards and personally came to welcome the reinforcements from the capital.
The army was in good spirits and well-equipped. It was obvious that they were strong. Count Steve was satisfied, thinking that Gravel and the rest were doomed this time.
The officer in charge was very young and had a striking appearance. The officer in charge handed a letter sealed with the Empire's coat of arms to Count Steve. After reading the letter, Steve began to talk to the officer.
The officer was called Adams, a lieutenant-colonel. He had the army set up camp at the designated place.
The next morning, Haiya Castle was heavily guarded. Including the reinforcements Adams brought, there were more than 2500 imperial soldiers ready to go.
This time, Count Steve personally took command. He selected 300 cavalrymen from his personal guards.
The one left behind to guard the castle was his son, Baron Sedak. Less than 500 soldiers were left behind to guard the castle.
Along with the bugle horn, an army of nearly three thousand men departed from the castle, heading towards the Wilson Mountain Range in the north.
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