Chapter 89: Chapter 31: Orlando Steel Nail Mercenary Corps
The current situation did not allow Su Li to complain. As the Commander-in-Chief of the entire army, if he continued to spread despair and negativity, the morale of the troops would inevitably waver.
So Su Li patted Schwartz on the shoulder and comforted him, "Relax, my Knight. Think positively. Most of the green tide monsters are at this level. Their entire force is composed of 5,000, most of which are weak monsters from the goblin tribe. As long as we can train these slaves reasonably well, we will gain an advantage in battle."
Schwartz nodded heavily and said, "You’re right, significant Lord. But we need more soldiers, otherwise, even these weak monsters among the goblin tribes could overwhelm us if they swarm in."
Su Li turned his head, looking at Vandar, and asked, "How many more slaves can we recruit?"
Vandar glanced at the teams being led into the training field, calculated slightly, and said, "These are already the strongest among the slaves. If we lower the standards further, at most we can recruit two more teams, but they would include women and children. After all, our territory’s total population is just over 600. Except for those who are too weak to go to the battlefield, we are almost at total mobilization."
Su Li’s mood was completely clouded as was the weather at the moment. With a maximum of 600 people, it’s truly hard to resist the terrifying tide of monsters.
When will a ray of sunlight pierce through these overcast skies and light up the heavens?
While he was pondering this, an excited voice suddenly came from the entrance of the training field: "Lord, good news! Good news, I have brought reinforcements."
Su Li immediately looked in the direction of the voice, and it turned out to be the Minister of the Seal, Lauren, walking quickly towards him, undeterred by the heavy rain. Beside him was a stouter middle-aged stranger wearing black plate armor and with a thick beard.
Lauren swiftly approached Su Li’s side and introduced, "This is Knight Beckman, the leader of the Orlando Steel Nail Mercenary Corps. He has decided to join our fight against the green tide with his mercenary corps, and over 50 courageous guards and workers from the trade association have decided to take up arms against those damned forest monsters."
Even the guards and workers from the caravan are willing to join the fight?
Su Li, thrilled, immediately stepped forward, shook the Ranger Knight’s right hand, and said, "Knight Beckman, your joining is truly a godsend for me. On behalf of the territory, I welcome you."
Knight Beckman drew his index finger across his navel and along both sides of his collarbone, sketching a "V" on his chest, the standard gesture of a Redema Knight’s salute, symbolizing a shield against evil and monsters.
After the salute, Knight Beckman resolutely said, "It is our unyielding responsibility as believers of Redema to fight against evil monsters!"
"Besides, Lord, you’ll be paying a high commission for it, won’t you?"
Lauren discreetly held up five fingers to Su Li, who involuntarily drew a sharp breath, 50 gold coins!
This mercenary corps knows how to exploit the situation.
But considering that one elite knight and at least five apprentice knights above transcendents would bring nearly a hundred strong men to fight a bloody battle for him, he accepted the price.
So Su Li solemnly said, "Of course, as long as your fighting is worthy of your honor, I will pay the full fee we agreed upon for this battle."
Su Li was somewhat familiar with this world’s mercenaries; it is a high-risk, high-reward profession. Anyone can mix into the mercenary corps; they might be thrill-seeking, glory-pursuing rich heirs, impoverished people, or desperate outlaws.
In other words: In most mercenary corps, as long as you are human and can wield a weapon, you can join. This also leads to varied quality among mercenary teams; most ragtag mercenary teams are unreliable, potentially taking your money, collaborating with criminals, or cowardly fleeing in battle like rat people.
But the remaining mercenary corps can be trusted warriors worth hiring with a large sum of money. Although the ethos, preferences, and prices of these teams may not be satisfactory in some respects, to survive in a perilous world, people mostly opt to spend money to avert disaster.
After Knight Oerstein led Knight Beckman away to arrange their tactics, Lauren walked to Su Li’s side and said, "Lord, fortunately, you didn’t haggle with Knight Beckman. This is a trustworthy mercenary corps worth our large expenditure to hire."
Su Li asked curiously, "Do they have any noteworthy battle achievements?"
"Yes, when I negotiated, I inquired about this mercenary’s information from the West Commerce Association to see if they were reliable."
"The nickname ’Steel Nail’ was earned during a battle near Sea Door Pass, when the Empire and the dwarves’ joint forces were besieged by a horde of green skins. The bloody and brutal battle lasted from noon that day until dawn the next day, and when the dwarves’ helicopter squadron arrived, the only human force still standing alongside the dwarves were these people wielding long halberds, led by Mrs. Orlando. Even the proud dwarves expressed their admiration for these humans, saying they were ’nailed to the position like steel nails’."
"Thus, the Steel Nail Corps earned the friendship of Sea Door Pass, establishing a considerable base there. They absorbed many excellent mercenaries, growing into a large mercenary group, developing several teams to act as bounty hunters, and fighting in high-risk areas multiple times, amassing rich experience in combat against beastmen. This mercenary corps is one of their subordinate mercenary teams."
"It is said that their Grand Leader, Ferdinand the Flayer, is a powerful champion-level knight, with his private collection room displaying trophies from the first half of his life: a necklace of a hundred black beastmen tusks, a green gemstone pried from Ushabti, the right claw of a Skaven assassin still clutching the Tearful Sword... and the product of Ferdinand’s peculiar hobby—13 evil god champion scalps, commemorating 13 unforgettable champion duels."
This is indeed a trustworthy mercenary team, unlike the profit-driven scoundrels Su Li had in mind.
The addition of this mercenary corps gave Su Li a bit more confidence in the victory of the battle.
Su Li braved the rain to check on the training of these commerce mercenaries and workers, noting that their fighting spirit was very high, even stronger than that of the slaves in the castle when facing the monsters.
Su Li was puzzled for a moment but then roughly guessed the reason: if the territory’s people couldn’t win, they could still retreat into the castle.
But these mercenaries and lumberjacks had to enter the forest no matter what. If they did not seize the opportunity to join forces with the Hesse Territory’s army to defeat these monsters now, they would face attacks from the huge goblin tribe alone once they entered the forest in the future. The risk of them being attacked and killed would be even greater then. So, their desire for victory was no less than the soldiers of Hesse Territory.
As the soldiers trained with high morale, the time quickly approached the afternoon.
By noon, the heavy rain had stopped. Summer weather brings quick storms and quick clear skies. The rain stopped, and within half an hour, the dark clouds completely dissipated, revealing the bright sunshine.
At this moment, the territory was bustling with activity. To boost morale, Su Li spared no expense.
He personally instructed Lauren: "As the intensity of training increases, nutrition must also keep up. Before the great battle, we must arm the soldiers to the teeth, providing them with the most adequate food. Ensure that every soldier, even a slave, can eat half a pound of meat, a fish, two bowls of milk, and three bowls of rice a day, with vegetables also not lacking. Distribute the berries and vegetables gathered by hunters. If that’s still not enough, start harvesting some of the cabbages."
The cabbage’s growing period is generally 60 to 90 days. The territory’s cabbage has been planted for over a month. Considering the local climate allows three harvests a year, it is already midway through the growing period. The leaves are small but edible. After all, if harvested at once upon maturity, they can’t be consumed quickly, so it isn’t considered wasteful.
The so-called ’arming to the teeth’ involves preparations like these before the war. Without eating well and building strength, how could the soldiers muster the energy to fight?
Lauren nodded and replied, "We will do everything in our power to ensure all the warriors are well-fed before the battle."
"There’s one more thing: four able-bodied adults from the Free People of the territory are gathered outside the Fiery Sun Goddess Monastery construction site, requesting to join the territory’s forces to defend their homeland."
Philis’s hometown people?
Su Li replied directly, "Let them join. I believe in their courage."
Though this world did not propose the idea that ’those with a stable property have a stable mind,’ a similar evaluation is made of the Free People’s Corps formed by Free People by the nobility.
An Empire Marshal once said, "Perhaps, from a knight’s perspective, they may seem like an undisciplined rabble, but a man often fights with double the strength when defending his homeland and family."
These people spent most of their savings buying a large farm in Hesse Territory. In any case, they can’t let it all be destroyed by the monster invasion.
Then Su Li remembered Philis, a girl possibly entangled with the chance of ascending to the throne. But he’s currently busy to death, with no time to contemplate confessing to her.
At least survive first, and then think about the possibility of ascending the throne!
While he and Lauren were discussing supplies, the urgent sound of hoofbeats came from afar. Judging by the sound, a cavalry unit, composed of no less than a dozen strong warhorses, was swiftly approaching!
Soon, Hilude’s energetic voice rang out: "My Lord, I’ve brought back a Battle Pilgrimage Group with over 60 people for you!"