270

It's the Plunder King! The Plunder King has appeared!"

"Run away quickly!"

The townspeople ran away screaming. The notoriety of the plunder king was so great that everyone had packed their belongings in advance so that they could escape at any time.

Since they were preparing to emigrate anyway, people ran away without looking back.

The same was true for the vigilantes. They too had received orders from the lord to flee and not fight when the plunder king's army appeared.

Jiselle raised her club and shouted loudly.

"Destroy everything and take everything!"

"Wow! Let's get it all out!"

The knights don't really know why Jiselle is acting like this. They just assume she's either upset about something or is bored.

Because they were only practicing and didn't pay any attention to how the territory was run.

So this time too, I was busy just mindlessly following Jiselle around.

But recently, while I was raiding the village with Jiselle, a thought occurred to me.

'This… is secretly fun.'

'Maybe I have the constitution of a thief?'

'I don't know why, but I want to keep going!'

Since most of them were mercenaries or of lowly origin, even if they became knights, they could not live a rigid life like knights in other territories.

Fenris is much more free than other fiefdoms, but it still has its own rules. Gillian, a former mercenary, is particularly strict.

He would never tolerate any smearing of food on Giselle's face.

I've been living like that ever since I became known as a knight, so after a long time of doing something bad(?) like this, I feel somewhat relieved and happy.

"Whaaahhh! Break it all!"

"All the food in this village is mine!"

"We are the plunderers of the North!"

So they gave it their all. No, they completely immersed themselves in the role.

"Hehehehe! Catch meeeeeee!"

"Waaaaaaah! Mom!"

The masked knight chased after the running child, laughing vulgarly.

"Gyaaaah! No! Not my child!"

The child's mother cried out in surprise. The knight, feeling that the distance had become too close, stumbled as if he had tripped on a rock.

"Hey! There's a rock here?"

"Ah, Goddess! Thank you!"

The mother holding the child thanked the goddess and ran away in a hurry. The people around her were all too terrified to notice the knight's awkward acting.

The plunder king and his 40 thieves, who had been chasing away the villagers in this manner, soon began to destroy the houses.

Boom! Boom! Kwaang!

Claude, wearing a mask, urged the knights on.

"Hurry up and break it! It's embarrassing because someone might see it!"

No matter how much Claude was going out, he was still a scholar who had ranked first in the academy. I really didn't want to do something so undignified.

"Oh, why! It's fun!"

The knights laughed and worked hard to destroy the village.

After destroying all the houses, they plundered the village and returned to the castle in high spirits with the food and materials they had acquired.

Of course, when I came back, I changed into the clothes I had hidden nearby to deceive people's eyes.

And the people looked moved as they watched Giselle and the knights return to the castle.

"Our lord chased after a group of thieves."

"There used to be over 500 people, but now it's down to about 40."

"Oh, how hard it must be for you to go out like that every day."

Jiselle waved her hand at those people with a tired expression.

People were moved to tears by the sight and screamed loudly.

"My lord, be strong!"

"We will help you!"

"I will enlist too!"

How could I just sit still when the lord is suffering like this? My current peaceful life is all thanks to the lord.

Jiselle also opened her mouth with a moved expression.

"Just hearing your words makes me feel strong. You are the hope of this territory. Let's join forces and drive out the enemies who are targeting the territory!"

"Wow!"

Everyone cheered so loudly that the castle would disappear. As this happened every day, the enlistment rate skyrocketed day by day.

As soon as Giselle entered the castle, she asked Claude.

"Hey, how much did you pack today?"

"… … It's a small town, so there's not much to do."

When Claude told her the amount of loot(?), Giselle answered with a trembling expression.

"What? Is that all you can do? Hey, I said let's hurry up and go. You didn't just take everything and run away."

"...."

Claude looked at Giselle and thought.

'This kid is totally into stealing right now.'

Yeongju was originally an outgoing person, so they got along well. However, he was not the type of person to do something like this.

I was dragged there by force and had no choice but to join them, but I always felt guilty, wondering if this was the intention.

In any case, thanks to the activities of the Plunder King, the perception that the territory was in danger spread widely.

There was no doubt. In fact, each city and fortress was teeming with countless moving soldiers.

——————

faqwiki.us

Join our Discord for new chapter updates!

https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V

——————

"Move quickly! There is news that the enemy is approaching!"

Doo doo doo doo doo!

People became worried as they watched the soldiers moving busily.

"The enemy has come again?"

"Our territory has a lot of food, so everyone will want to steal it. I just didn't think about it until now."

"Are they raiders again? Or scouts from another lord?"

An old man approached the busily moving soldiers and asked them.

"What's going on? The enemy has appeared again?"

"It seems so. I have been ordered to move to the territory boundary immediately."

The soldier spoke seriously. It had to be that way. They were simply following the actual movement orders that had been given without knowing the inside story.

That's what the military is like. They just criticize you without even knowing what you're doing.

So the soldiers had no choice but to move busily, and the people became more worried when they saw that.

It is said that the army of the territory that was vaguely believed in is in great trouble. If the territory is taken over by others, they will have to return to their old life of poverty.

They could not help but think that the territory had already fallen into a state of war. So the enlistment rate continued to rise.

Of course, once the soldiers move, another order comes down from above after a while.

– The lord has intercepted the enemy at the border. Return your unit to its original position.

Then the soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and were busy praising their lord.

"As expected, you are my lord."

"We need to help you."

"I heard that other units have already fought alongside the lord."

They didn't fight, but other units did. Rumors of this spread throughout all units. The higher-ups blocked information exchange between units, so there was no way to confirm anything with each other.

Jiselle said with satisfaction as she checked the increasing number of volunteers for enlistment.

"Okay, there's not much left. Then, shall we give it our all for the last time?"

The forced relocation of all villages has already been completed. Now, there is not even a small village left in the Fenris domain where spies can hide.

The places where people live are limited to cities and fortresses.

This makes it much faster and easier to bring people together when war breaks out. The same goes for moving logistics.

If it was like Giselle, it could be said that it was a reckless plan that focused only on increasing war efficiency.

While increasing the enlistment rate, the sluggish immigration plan has also been finalized.

"Okay, let's go! Everyone, make sure you don't make any mistakes!"

All of the knights who went out on their last expedition, including Giselle, returned with red bandages wrapped all over their bodies.

The bandages were dyed red, as if they were soaked with blood, with Belinda's special red and spicy seasoning. The knights' noses turned red and their eyes became moist from the pungent, spicy scent that rose from the bandages.

People looked at him with expressions of disbelief.

"Yes, your lord is injured."

"Isn't it rumored that our lord is a sword master?"

"There were too many enemies. There must have been strong knights too."

People were looking at the knights with worried faces and stamping their feet. Giselle and the knights looked extremely tired with their limbs drooping and their heads bowed.

As people gathered, Jiselle gathered mana into her feet and squeezed the Black King's side tightly.

Heeeeeeeeeing!

The Black King was startled by the pain that felt like his insides were going to burst, shook his body, and threw a tantrum. At that exact moment, Giselle fell from her horse.

Fur flap.

"Ugh!"

"My lord!"

As people approached in surprise, Giselle raised her hand and said.

"I, I'm okay… … ."

At that moment, the angry Black King snorted and kicked the fallen Giselle with his hind leg.

puck!

'This kid?'

Jisel, who was rolling around, glared at the Black King for a moment, but he was acting at the moment, so he couldn't scold him. Jisel lowered her head again, sublimating her anger and annoyance into a painful expression.

"Your Majesty!"

People screamed.

He is the lord who takes care of them with love(?), feeds them, puts them to bed… … In any case, he does everything for them. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him when I saw him struggling and in pain like this.

Some people even collapsed and cried, especially older people who had lived here for a long time.

For them, the lord was their lifelong benefactor and savior.

At that moment, Jiselle muttered something. Her voice sounded suspiciously clear, as if it were piercing into everyone's ears.

"Ugh… … If only there were just a few more soldiers… … . There aren't enough troops in the territory… … ."

With those words, Giselle closed her eyes and pretended to faint. The knights looked at her and bit their lips, making indignant expressions.

'If you laugh now, you'll really die.'

'Hold on, hold on, hold on… … . Ah, please, please.'

'Mom, Dad. I miss you.'

Claude also closed his eyes tightly and turned his head away. To anyone who saw him, it looked like he was holding back tears.

'I'm too embarrassed to eat, really.'

Wendy, who was next to me, also bit her upper lip and looked up at the sky.

Soon Belinda and her servants came rushing out of the castle.

"Gyah! Do-ryeon! What do I do?"

As Belinda screamed, Gillian, who was beside her, picked up Giselle and strode into the castle. His face was a deep red.

Gillian didn't like this kind of acting at all. But she couldn't help but feel bad about it, since it was Giselle's doing.

He kept his mouth shut and said nothing, fearing that he might make a mistake. Fortunately, the people of Yeongji saw his stiff face and thought that he was holding back his anger.

Alfoy and Kane, who were moving construction materials, were astonished to see the lord and his retainers joining forces to swindle the people of the territory.

"Tsk tsk. Go ahead and do something, you idiots."

Anyway, the rumor that the lord had been injured and collapsed in a fight spread quickly throughout the territory.

A large-scale volunteer movement took place among the people.

"We must protect our lord! Let us give strength to our lord!"

"Let's protect the territory! If not us, then who will? If it's taken away, we'll have to go back to living like before!"

"Let's enlist all sane men into the Youngji Army!"

The term of service for the Yeongji Army was 10 years. It was similar to that of other Yeongjis.

It took longer than expected, but people didn't care. They all volunteered with indignant expressions.

And after a while, Claude reported to Giselle.

"… … The number of soldiers excluding the knights is approximately 12,000. A greater achievement than the target… … . Ugh, what the hell is this! How is this really happening!"

As Claude was talking, he suddenly became angry and shouted.

I knew Yeongju was popular, but I didn't know it was this popular. It seemed like everyone living in Yeongju loved, respected, and cherished Yeongju.

It makes me even more angry that such a scam works because I am loved so much. I feel so jealous that I want to be loved too.

"Ugh, anyway, if you add up the knights, elves, and labor assault troops, the force is a little over 13,000."

At present, the only people in the North who could gather more troops were Leipold and Desmond.

Considering the number of knights and the new equipment, the total force was enough to compete with those two and the strongest in the North.

Of course, the level of the new recruits is no different from that of the conscripts. The calculation will be correct if we now turn them into elite soldiers.

Jiselle smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

"See, it's okay. I told you there are a lot of people in our territory."

"Yes… … . You must be happy because you're popular. Oh my, that would be great. Really."

"Are you jealous right now?"

"Yes."

Giselle clicked her tongue as she watched Claude grumbling for no reason before continuing.

"Now we begin the real training, Gillian."

"Yes, my lord."

"You will be in charge of training in the southern region, centered around Stonehaven Fortress. I will provide 100 knights, so come with them. I will be in charge of training in the northern region."

"All right."

The soldiers were spread out all over the territory, so it was not enough for one Gillian to train and manage them all. She had to divide the areas she was in charge of with Giselle appropriately.

The Stonehaven fortress that Jisel had chosen as his base was the largest and most important stronghold in the south of the old Cavaldi region of the territory. This was because when an enemy invaded, they would inevitably pass through there.

Although they had no choice but to divide up the areas in charge, the lord, Jisel, could not leave the castle for long. That was why he assigned Gillian to train in the southern region, which was a little further away.

Of course, even if he was only in charge of the southern region, it would be difficult for Gillian to manage thousands of soldiers alone. That's why he assigned knights of a higher level than soldiers.

Jiselle spoke frankly about her training goals.

"The goal is to train all soldiers to become proficient in horsemanship. After that, I plan to select 2,000 men who are proficient in horsemanship, train them intensively in archery, and then organize them all into archers and cavalry archers."

Horsemanship was now a basic skill for the Fenris soldiers. But it was not enough for the level that Giselle wanted.

"The rest will be trained to use spears, swords, and shields like regular soldiers. They can switch between units and be used in battle anytime, anywhere."

"What is the target time frame?"

"The target period is three months. I know it's short, but we have to teach them so they can participate in battles somehow within that time."

"I will do my best to carry out your orders."

It was a tight schedule, but we had to do something, because we never knew when a civil war would break out.

Jiselle sighed quietly without letting others notice. Because of her, things in the future were changing and progressing faster than in her previous life. She couldn't let her guard down even for a day.

He continued speaking, looking around at all his vassals.

"For now, we will put aside land development and all policies and prioritize the training of soldiers. We will focus on supporting soldiers so that they can focus solely on training."

With one word from Giselle, the war preparations for the Fenris Territory began in earnest. Training the soldiers was the first step.

The soldiers may have a hard time, but they will be able to endure the intense training. They all enlisted with the determination to protect their territory, so their morale was very high.

Now we need to teach them to fight on the battlefield.

So much so that they could even compete with the army of Harold Desmond, known as the strongest in the North.

Jiselle opened her mouth with a confident smile.

"The day when we will become the strongest in the North is not far off."

Preparations for conquering the North were gradually being completed.