Chapter 267: Should We Get Ready for War Again? (2)
Ghislaine ignored the reactions of his retainers and continued speaking.
“What is the most important military status?”
The retainers had already anticipated Ghislaine’s plans to some extent. They knew all too well the lord’s nasty habits after experiencing them several times.
Whenever the lord needed something, he would beat someone up; whenever he prepared something, someone would still get a beating. Having prepared to this extent, it meant it was someone else’s turn to take a hit.
So, the retainers just gave up and didn’t voice any opposing opinions.
“Everyone has completed their armament with Galbarium equipment. As instructed by the lord, they’re focusing on training in horsemanship, archery, and various weapon techniques, without neglecting any troop types.”
“Military facilities, including training camps and barracks, have been built in all cities and fortresses. However, given the troop numbers, we’ve built way too many, leaving us with more empty spaces than occupied ones.”
“We’re also giving the territory residents basic training in preparation for the conscription.”
Currently, Penris’s troops amounted to about 4,000, including the newly recruited soldiers and knights. This was already surpassing the strength of Perdium, which belonged to his father.
In the kingdom, it was rare to find garrisons larger than this.
Objectively speaking, it was by no means a small number, but it was laughably insufficient against the Duke Faction. No, it didn’t even come close to matching Desmond’s forces.
No matter how much they strengthen their knights or train elite soldiers, overcoming the gap in numbers was going to be tough.
The fewer soldiers there were, the fewer strategies they could choose from, leading to greater potential damage when combat actually ensued.
With a dissatisfied look, Ghislaine asked Claude.
“Why is recruitment taking so long? We’ve been at it continuously, right? Not getting many recruits?”
“Honestly, there’s just too much to do. We focused on recruiting laborers and developing the territory. Also, the territory residents prefer to just work and get paid rather than serve as soldiers. Nobody really likes the army.”
“Hm, that’s something we need to figure out. Anyway, you all know there’s going to be a civil war soon, right? We need to prepare thoroughly from now on. Especially regarding soldier training and securing military supplies.”
Despite the lord’s nasty habits, none of the retainers were unaware that war would eventually arise.
The Crown Prince Faction’s Ghislaine had already captured and killed Count Cabaldy of the Duke Faction, claiming his land. At that time, Count Desmond was trying to mobilize his troops to go after Ghislaine.
It was natural that the conflict between the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction was intensifying due to Ghislaine; it would actually be strange if a civil war didn’t break out.
Claude scratched his head and said, “Well, we’re always keeping an eye on preparations for war. The problem lies in how we’re going to move.”
To endure a long-lasting war, the territory must thrive, so everyone focused on its development.
Right now, the residents are enjoying the benefits, but the truth is that all the enterprises in the Penris Territory were for the purpose of military enhancement.
And now that Claude knew the enemy well, he had prepared for war at all times.
“Yeah, good work. What’s the movement in the surrounding territories?”
“The most important Count Desmond is ramping up preparations for war. It’s now quite clear that he’s gathering troops outright. It’s obvious he’s planning to attack us, but isn’t it true that the real conflict will start when the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction begin to clash seriously?”
“Count Desmond can’t act alone because of Marquis Branford. What about Amelia?”
“She’s still in a passive standoff with Baron Valua. It seems the northern lords are wary of her, keeping an eye on her movements.”
At that, Ghislaine laughed.
Because of her, Harold’s plans had gone awry, hastening Amelia’s rebellion, and Davin had survived. She must be quite the headache for Amelia.
With Davin being higher in the line of succession alive, lords who had ties with the former Count Raybold could now use justification to invade Raybold’s territory.
According to northern customs, nearby lords would never recognize a woman as a lord.
Besides, Amelia was at war with Baron Valua. Other lords must be drooling at the chance to carve up Raybold while they’re at it.
“What about the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction?”
“It seems all the former lords of the Crown Prince Faction are involved in road construction, and that must have irked the Duke Faction lords. They’ve stationed troops along the territory borders touching the Crown Prince Faction. The Crown Prince Faction is also deploying troops under the pretext of protecting the road under construction.”
“Oh, they must be on edge then?”
“Yes, even a small quarrel could lead to bloodshed. This is all because of that crazy guy… No, I mean, it’s all because of you, my lord.”
Ghislaine laughed again. The lords of the Duke Faction, who bordered the Crown Prince Faction, must really be on edge.
Once the road is completed, the Crown Prince Faction could gather their troops and move at any time.
Because of her, everything was progressing faster than in her past life. At this rate, even a minor trigger could ignite a civil war.
Both the Crown Prince Faction and the Duke Faction were being drawn into her schemes.
‘I’ll prepare the trigger for the battle when I’m ready to initiate it.’
Of course, confronting the Duke Faction alone at this time is unreasonable. The immediate target is to deal with Count Desmond decisively first. The rest will be held off by the Crown Prince Faction anyway.
In her past life, the Crown Prince Faction kept falling behind due to famine and couldn’t even put up a fight during the civil war. But now, thanks to her, they’ve endured the famine.
Even if a civil war starts, she would buy enough time to crush Desmond.
Currently, the Penris Soldiers were being honed into elites through rigorous training. The territory’s production capacity in terms of armament and food was now off the charts compared to before.
‘Still a bit lacking, though.’
She didn’t want a battered victory. If that happened, she would be quickly overrun by the Duke Faction.
Thus, she needed more troops and weapons. Only then could she crush Desmond overwhelmingly and subdue the north.
Only then would she finally have the foundation to fight against the Duke Faction.
Ghislaine grinned fiercely and spoke.
“First, ramp up troop recruitment. The target is 10,000 soldiers.”
“Get cracking on the recruitment. The goal is 10,000 soldiers!”
It was time to go all in on preparing for the civil war.
*
Recruitment notices for new soldiers were dispatched across all regions of the territory. Since there had been ongoing recruitment anyway, the Territory Residents weren’t too shaken up.
They just assumed the Lord was at it again, piling on the troops.
With that much going on, they had become so comfortable in their peaceful lives that tension had completely dropped.
Recruiting troops would naturally take some time, so Ghislaine decided to check in with Galbarik first.
He wanted to confirm if the equipment he had left behind before heading out monster hunting was ready yet.
“What’s this? Still not done? Did everyone take a vacation?”
“J-Just a little more patience, please! The Mages are all here working hard!”
This equipment involved the best technology in the territory. It wasn’t just about making helmets and armor; they had to incorporate various Runestones and inscribe the corresponding Magic Circles. But just having a blueprint with concepts scribbled all over wasn’t enough to finish it.
Once they got the first piece done properly, the rest would be a piece of cake, but that first piece showcasing the desired performance just wouldn’t materialize.
To be honest, Ghislaine had left for a few days and it was true that they had slacked off a bit during that time. Realizing that, Ghislaine visited Galbarik every day.
“Still not ready?”
“Just wait a little longer…”
“How about today?”
“A few more days…”
“When’s it going to be done?”
“Soon…”
Though it was inexcusable that they had taken it easy while the lord was away, having Ghislaine come in and rush them like this felt unbearable.
‘Dang it, we slacked off for no reason.’
‘I thought it would be done quickly, but it’s tougher than I thought.’
‘I’m the crazy one for knowing his temper and still goofing off.’
Galbarik and the Dwarves gritted their teeth and focused solely on their work and research. Naturally, the Mages had no choice but to join in, losing sleep in the process.
When they made the Large Incubator before, Vanessa had kept the Dwarves busy, but this time the roles were reversed.
With the workload piling up, Alfoy got frustrated and snapped at Galbarik.
“Hey! Are we your subordinates? I’m busy too; why do you keep calling me to boss me around?”
“What? When we were making the Large Incubator, you stayed up helping every night! And this time, you were slacking off too, you ungrateful jerk!”
“That was because the Lord ordered it! Of course I had to!”
“This is also an order from the Lord!”
As the two started to bicker, Vanessa jumped in to mediate.
“Alfoy, please don’t! It’s true that the Dwarves worked hard to help us! Besides, we’re the ones who need to work on the Magic Circles anyway!”
Whenever Vanessa stepped in, Alfoy had to back down. He scratched his head and mumbled.
“No, it’s just… this isn’t working, you know… I was wondering if we could manage… it’s no good. We need more people for this.”
With Alfoy stepping back, work resumed smoothly.
During that time, Ghislaine kept coming back every day to ask. After several days of this routine, both the asker and the answerer were nearing their breaking point.
“Is it done yet? I’m in a hurry!”
“It’s done! It’s done! It’s done, you brat!”
“Oh?”
Ghislaine was taken aback by Galbarik’s shout. He had expected to hear it was still not ready, but instead, he felt like he had received a surprise gift.
Before Ghislaine’s eyes lay a set of black armor and a helmet. This was the product of the territory’s finest technicians and a hefty sum of money poured into the equipment.
Ghislaine examined the armor with a look like a child who just received a present.
“Done.”
Looking at him, Galbarik said with a serious expression.
“But… now that I’ve made this, it seems like a pretty dangerous item…”
Ghislaine replied with a satisfied smile.
“Yeah, it’s really an awesome thing.”
This armor was worn only by the elite knights in his past life. It was made to fight the beings that emerged during the Age of Turmoil.
Galbarik looked at him with a slightly worried face.
The performance Ghislaine desired was not simple at all. What he handed over was just a conceptual blueprint, but the arrangement of the runestones and magic circles provided the most efficient and powerful effects.
It required Galbarium, and it could only be produced by a mage with knowledge of the 6th Circle or higher.
‘And coincidentally, Galbarium is being produced here, and there’s a 6th Circle mage named Vanessa. Now that I think about it, both Vanessa and I were brought here directly by the Lord.’
It felt as if Ghislaine had prepared this blueprint knowing it in advance.
Galbarik was now questioning Ghislaine’s knowledge.
“Until now, I thought it was just because the Lord studied a lot. But as time goes on, there are several strange things. It’s as if you prepare for everything in advance.”
That was the truth. However, Ghislaine just smiled knowingly. After all, he wouldn’t believe it anyway, right?
Without a word, he tried on the armor in front of him and infused it with mana.
Zing.
The armor trembled slightly, and light began to emanate from the gaps all over it.
“Nice.”
The temperature inside the armor, which had warmed up from body heat, suddenly dropped and became comfortable. It felt like his body was lighter, as if freed from gravity, and he felt an increase in strength.
His vision improved, and other senses became sharper.
Just by injecting a little mana, the effects were already this substantial. If knights wore this, they could display strength far beyond their original capabilities.
It was almost like a miraculous item that transformed a novice knight into an advanced knight in an instant.
“Distribute it to the knights immediately. They also need training to adapt to the heightened senses while wearing this. I should send some to my friends in the Turian Kingdom as well.”
“If the knights betray us or cause an accident, it could be quite troublesome. Just one person wearing this armor could easily slaughter hundreds of soldiers.”
“It’ll be fine. We can just give them some specialized training. Make sure they can’t think about anything else.”
As Ghislaine raised his fist and grinned, Galbarik clicked his tongue. After all, no matter how incredible the armor was, he doubted it would change the Lord’s opinion.
After the conversation ended, Galbarik suddenly snapped back to reality. He shouldn’t have long conversations with Ghislaine after finishing work.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now!”
He quickly turned his body, but Ghislaine urgently grabbed his shoulder. Galbarik yelped in shock.
“Ah! Why! Again!”
“Our conversation isn’t over yet.”
“What is it!”
“We need to make a new bow.”
“Huh? Aren’t we already making plenty of bows? The soldiers are also actively participating in archery training.”
The dwarves didn’t particularly need to make bows. Other technicians could produce sufficiently good bows as well.
But Ghislaine shook his head.
“No, it’s not an ordinary bow.”
“Then what is it?”
“A bow that anyone can easily shoot from horseback. The elves will use it as their main weapon.”
He never intended to use the elves solely for breeding horses. He was now thinking of creating new weapons and units that hadn’t existed in this territory before.
