245. Childhood Friend – How to Use People

“Wahaha! It’s been a while! How long has it been?”

“Ruben! Vann!”

The barbarian warriors embraced each other warmly. They exchanged playful fist bumps and winked while dramatically thumping their chests to confirm their well-being.

This was the bond of blood relatives among warriors.

Not only the Bijan Tribe warriors but also fighters from various tribes like the yellowed tribe, Dwinor Tribe, Baruga Tribe, and Meiwa Tribe shared their joy in their own ways. Hatu, from the Baruga Tribe, was outright getting beaten up.

Even if he was a member of the elite guard and the direct disciple of Reb, getting beaten like that would definitely leave him sore.

However, sadly, he was scheduled to get hit at least ten more times.

The place where Reb and his company arrived was a forest not far from Marquis Gaidan’s territory. Within this lush area, a sizable encampment had been set up, housing over a thousand warriors. Yet, there were eleven more such encampments besides this one.

In total, there were more than 12,000 barbarian warriors.

These warriors had been sent by the barbarian tribes from around the Orun Kingdom, putting their trust in Reb.

They were swiftly devouring the wealth boasted by the Marquis Gaidan, but this was only about eight-tenths of what had arrived.

As for the rest, where did it go…

Who knows?

The villages of each tribe sent out warriors, anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred. However, when so many individuals move all at once, they could raise suspicion from local authorities, so the warriors were sent out in pairs of about ten.

Regardless of anything, they just had to reach the noble’s territory, the land belonging to Marquis Gaidan.

These warriors, setting off on their maiden long journey, would surely have something to tell about for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, a portion equal to this had ended up in the wrong place.

But really, what’s the big deal?

The boisterous warriors laughed, “Oh, those idiots!” and didn’t take it too seriously. Reb wasn’t overly worried either, as it was likely that they had mistaken Marquis Gaidan’s second territory, which bordered the Conrad Kingdom, as their destination.

Or maybe not.

It might sound irresponsible, but such a level of loss is common in military operations of this era. Rather, the fact that eight-tenths had arrived was quite impressive, prompting Reb to cheerfully tour the twelve encampments.

The first thing he checked was the supply situation. Thanks to the efforts of Marquis Gaidan, the food supplies were sufficient.

Next, he looked at the soldiers’ gears and training levels; unfortunately, most of the warriors were still equipped with their hunting tools, like axes or bows.

Despite having looted weapons from the Theobik Family, arming twelve thousand men was still lacking, and even Marquis Gaidan wouldn’t be able to procure that many weapons quickly.

Fortunately, the training levels of the warriors were good. It was a natural outcome considering they had postponed their mobilization by a year.

“Who is commanding each encampment, and how are they communicating?”

Reb asked. The Great Warrior from the Bijan Tribe respectfully replied to his cousin (Reb), who was like a younger brother.

“The great warriors of each tribe are in charge. We haven’t been in touch specifically… but that Grand Officer from Marquis Gaidan has been bringing food and sharing news from outside.”

“I see. Alright then, I’ll reorganize the military structure. It seems Marquis Gaidan deliberately split us into units of thousands, so I will categorize each encampment into thousand-man units. You will now be a Thousand-man Commander. And Rubin.”

“Yes.”

“You will serve as the assistant and liaison here at this encampment. The Thousand-man Commander will select ten Hundred-man Commanders, and the Hundred-man Commanders will select their own Ten-man Commanders and messengers. Once that’s done… send Vann over to the southern encampment. That’s where my main unit will be.”

“Understood. What should we call our thousand-man unit? Shall we call it the First Thousand-man Unit?”

The Great Warrior asked, subtly eager about the numbering. Reb, who didn’t think of such things as important, easily allowed it, “Sure, we’ll do that.”

Thus, Reb moved around the twelve encampments. He sequentially labeled them First, Second, Third… and assigned one of his ten disciples to each Thousand-man Commander.

Finally, at the eleventh encampment where there were no more disciples to assign, Reb looked at…

“…you’ve got to be kidding me?”

Leo Dexter. He chuckled at the response of the Great Warrior managing the eleventh encampment and commanded him.

“You will now be a Thousand-man Commander. Select a messenger to maintain contact with the main unit and ten Hundred-man Commanders.”

“Understood.”

Reb then headed toward the last twelfth encampment. He made the Great Warrior there a Thousand-man Commander and became the general leading the main unit himself.

After finishing the organization, Reb turned his head to meet Marquis Gaidan. At that moment, one of the twelve knights appointed by Marquis Evni Dragin said,

“Lady, please get into the carriage. We will escort you.”

This was directed at Lena Ainar. Lena frowned slightly but obediently got into the carriage, and Leo, who was riding alongside Reb, asked,

“By the way, your disciples. Vann, Ruben, Hatu, those guys.”

“What about them?”

“They seem to be training hard… were you teaching them swordsmanship to take down princes?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are they only stuck as assistant and liaisons? If it were me, I would have kept them around.”

It’s a valid question. However, Reb pointed at the knights following behind as they escorted the carriage.

“Because they’re here. I didn’t expect Marquis Dragin to provide knights. You take charge of the knights’ unit.”

“…”

Leo was momentarily at a loss for words.

Of course, no matter how much he taught his disciples, they weren’t as complete as real knights. That’s only natural.

But still, they’re the first disciples we’ve taken since Katrina. They’ve been with us for over a year… Leo surely wouldn’t make such a choice.

Whether lacking or talented, he would have stuck with his disciples till the end.

Leo mumbled,

“Even when we were numbering them earlier, you really lack romance.”

Reb shot back briefly.

“It’s childish.”

*

A month later, in summer, Reb and Marquis Harvey Gaidan’s troops set out.

The barbarian warriors followed Marquis Gaidan’s army to mislead the kingdom’s watchful eye.

Lena did not accompany them.

She decided to stay at Marquis Gaidan’s territory. It seems she had opted to learn cooking from the marquis’ wife, who was reputed for her culinary skills.

“Take care on your journey. Did you say it’s called the Bidorinin Castle? When you come back, you’d better achieve many feats to spoil me. Got it?”

Leo confidently reassured her, meant to comfort Lena, who was feeling down, and it was pitiful to see how he was trying to fill that emptiness.

Reb averted his gaze, finding it hard to watch. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before; it couldn’t help but bring out that situation because Hirie Gaidan was there, looking dazed.

Lena, who had lost her dream of being a knight, and Hirie, who had lost her beloved.

A similar atmosphere emanated from the two women.

The vivaciousness humans normally radiate faded, leaving only their physical forms, stark and lonely. How pitiful.

At that moment, Reb closed his eyes tightly as the images of the two women overlapped with that of Kasia.

‘Lena’s situation is better than that woman’s. At least Lena has a husband who loves her like that…’

Just then, someone whispered in his ear.

– Don’t twist the narrative. You made Hirie this way, hypocrite.

‘…I couldn’t help it.’

– Oh! Do you really think it was unavoidable? Don’t try to fool me. You sacrificed that woman to achieve your goals comfortably. You had at least five options to help her, didn’t you?

‘Who are you?’

– I’m Reb. You fool.

As he opened his eyes, the whisper quieted down. A young man who had once been an ordinary resident of Demos Village was now a general leading troops, and Marquis Gaidan said,

“Prince Alzeor de Lognum is moving north. In that short time, he managed to gather thirty thousand troops. Prince Eric has dispatched two knights’ orders, so facing them head-on looks hopeless.”

They were passing through the forest. Reb, shaking his head, asked,

“What about the magician?”

“I don’t know.”

That was the response from Count Soarel Demetri Ogerton, not Marquis Gaidan. He shrugged and continued.

“I did reach out to my peers and senior mages, but they seemed a bit indifferent. But you don’t need to worry. I’m here now.”

What kind of confidence is that?

However, Reb also had confidence in tricking the princes, so he didn’t act too pessimistically.

Days passed with marching, sleeping, and marching again. Passing through Bosspo, the hub for land trade with the Conrad Kingdom, Reb and Marquis Gaidan’s army encountered the forces of Prince Alzeor de Lognum under the scorching sun.

Both armies set up their encampments.

Naturally, as the prince and a duke, Prince Alzeor commanded a higher rank, so Marquis Gaidan went to report to the prince’s encampment.

Reb and Leo might enter with him and could take the prince’s head. But that would leave them surrounded by over two hundred knights and thirty thousand soldiers, resulting in their demise.

Perhaps if it were Lean de Yeriel, that could work.

Fortunately, the marquis returned with a joyful smile. Under the shade away from the scorching sun, he spread out the map and said,

“It seems the plan will proceed as expected. The prince suggested that we capture ‘Radoga’ first.”

Radoga was a trade city of the Conrad Kingdom, standing tall across the Irotrash River, rivaling Bosspo.

Currently, it was ruled not by the Tertan Duke’s house but by Count Gideon Lopero, as Prince Eric and Duke Tertan had died, and Midian Tertan had stepped down from his position as western marquis.

“Sure enough. You can’t miss such a city. So we’ll ambush when the army of Prince Alzeor crosses the Irotrash River. We’ve also finished discussions with the Conrad Kingdom. Count Gideon Lopero will feign weakness and counterattack at the Irotrash River.”

“Understood. Then our forces should proceed slowly with the crossing, but… Ah, there’s no need to look for excuses. A significant number of the soldiers the prince requisitioned are pirates. Even if we don’t deliberately slow them down, their crossing speed will be much faster. Instead, it’s better to pretend to hurry our crossing.”

“Pirates, you say?”

“Yes. I was wondering where they gathered such a large force until I heard they were extending leniency on the punishment of those serving as soldiers in coastal cities.”

Reb nodded. However, Count Ogerton, who was unfamiliar with coastal city dynamics, posed a question.

“Isn’t that a foolish action? Coastal cities would surely engage in trade… Wouldn’t the rumor of Prince Alzeor gathering troops reach the Conrad Kingdom? It was a failing expedition from the start.”

“Haha. I’m not intending to glorify Prince Alzeor, but that’s not the case. You’ve overlooked the monsoon winds of trade.”

“Monsoon winds?”

Marquis Harvey Gaidan briefly explained the coastal winds.

In winter, the winds blow out from the continent to the sea. Thus, the deep-sea fishing boats head to the ocean in winter riding this ‘outbound wind’, and return in summer using the ‘inbound wind’ blowing into the continent.

With the winds acting this way, maritime trade with other kingdoms didn’t happen in summer and winter.

However, large-scale maritime trade was possible in spring and autumn due to the ‘westerly trade winds’ and ‘easterly trade winds’.

“In spring, the winds only blow west. Strictly speaking, it’s wrapping around the continent, but from our kingdom’s standpoint, the prince issued the decree just before the end of autumn. That’s when the trade fleets departed for the Conrad Kingdom riding the easterly winds. And in spring, only the westerly winds are blowing, so there are only returning trade fleets.”

“Aha. So there weren’t any boat services heading for the Conrad Kingdom in that period. I see. Quite smart.”

“Yes. The pirates sail their galleys through the calm seas, and wouldn’t they want to row all day? They volunteered to enlist as soldiers in return for leniency.”

“Hm… that’s a bit unfortunate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Still, they came here hoping for a fresh start, but aren’t they doomed to drown in the Irotrash River? Don’t you have any plans to forgive them?”

Count Ogerton asked Reb. However, differing from Lean de Yeriel, who despised bandits and thugs extremely, Reb dryly replied.

“Only if they are alive.”

Fresh starts, my foot.
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