Of course they would rescue the villagers. The Sixth War Zone, where Richard’s territory was located, bordered an endless forest to the west and north, and the Fifth War Zone to the south.

If the man-eating demons wished to attack, they would either have to enter the ironwood forest from the Wilderness and travel for days and nights, or seep in through the forest itself.

However, anyone with common sense knew it was difficult for large armies to traverse forests, and thus they would not do so unless absolutely necessary. Supplying food and water to such a force would be a monumental task, and the man-eating demons’ own logistics were incredibly primitive.

Unlike open plains, the ironwood forest had no human villages where they could resupply their troops.

If a thousand-strong army of man-eating demons managed to enter the forest, without prior preparation, hunting game would not be enough to sustain them. This was why the man-eating demons who harassed the half-elf tribes only brought a small force with them and neglected their dog-headed allies.

Moreover, now there was an even sharper thorn in the side of the ironwood forest—the Forest City—and with the elven sword dancers and centaurs patrolling day and night, the likelihood of demonic infiltration was extremely low.

Thus, so long as the Fifth War Zone held, Richard’s territory would remain largely unaffected by war. Warfare inevitably disrupted production, and no lord would willingly allow fighting to occur within his own domain if he could stop it.

Indeed, Richard had already begun treating the entirety of the Sixth War Zone as his own domain.

Tie Mu Fort

The Barend family’s messenger arrived swiftly; less than a day after Richard received Yusi’s report, a plea for aid from the Barend family lay on his desk.

The Barend family held only a baronial title, but their lord, Baron Barend, was also a battle zone commander appointed by Flooding Snow City. This was because the Barend family had two knights, which made them a formidable force among the lesser nobles, qualifying the lord to hold such a position.

Generally speaking, both viscounts and barons belonged to the lower nobility. While viscounts might have slightly larger fiefdoms, there were few inherent differences between the two ranks, and many noble families relied on a single knight to protect their titles generation after generation.

Barons did not harbor any particular reverence toward viscounts; power spoke louder than rank. Only counts and those of higher rank possessed significantly larger fiefdoms and resources, ensuring their families’ continued prosperity and the ability to raise three to five knights every generation, thereby maintaining true noble status.

Thus, it was not unexpected for the Barend family, as a mere baronial house, to hold the position of commander in chief of the Fifth War Zone.

As Richard sat in his chair, carefully reading the letter of distress from the Barend family, the messenger stood respectfully to the side, awaiting his response.

The envoy’s mission was not merely to deliver a letter, but also to plead for aid from the Hunter family. He himself was a quasi-knight of the Barend family, and held a position somewhere in the middle of the family’s hierarchy, with enough influence to speak on certain matters.

In addition to delivering the letter, he had another mission: to persuade the Hunter family to send troops. If necessary, he was authorized to make certain promises.

The envoy had been watching Richard’s expression, hoping to discern some hint of his thoughts, but Richard remained impassive, even as he carefully folded and set aside the letter.

For the Barend family to have risen to the rank of baron through their own means indicated that they possessed a certain level of skill and cunning.

Richard couldn’t help but sigh after reading the letter.

The Barend family kept their explanations concise, appealing both to sympathy and reason, and speaking largely in empty platitudes about the justice of humanity. However, they did enumerate the specific quantities of provisions they would supply and the amount of gold pieces they would pay as mobilization fees.

The two viscount families and four baron families, including the Barends, pledged to cover all the operational expenses of Richard’s troops, plus an additional five thousand gold pieces as mobilization fees—a gesture demonstrating their sincerity.

Of course, this also served as an indirect indication of how dire the situation had become.

After the Northern Expeditionary Army’s defeat, Marquis Wade retreated with his remaining forces to defend Tiel Fort, powerless to prevent the orcs from advancing eastward. Aside from leaving behind a substantial contingent of orcs to monitor the Northern Expeditionary Army, several tens of thousands poured past Tiel Fort into the northern lands.

The northern lands were soon covered in the smoke of war, as countless villages were razed and their inhabitants fled as refugees. Even some smaller noble estates fell into the hands of the enemy.

Flooding Snow City had its hands full with its own matters, and the Banders didn’t expect any support from them, so they turned to Richard, who was their closest ally.

“Let’s up the gold pieces to 10,000.”

Courtesy was not Richard’s strong suit; he asked for a price increase as soon as he hung up the messenger’s call.

The Bander family might have been agreeable, but it was still necessary to follow procedure and haggle mercilessly before settling on a price.

“That’s…a bit too much, I’m afraid.”

Richard’s astronomical figure left the messenger somewhat troubled. Though he had been given the authority to negotiate a higher fee, the scope of his negotiations did not extend to such an extreme.

“Ten thousand gold pieces, and I’ll send my troops immediately. The vanguard departs today, led by at least twenty knights.”

Seeing that the messenger looked troubled, Richard offered his terms outright.

When the Bander family’s envoy heard that Richard would send at least twenty knights, his eyes lit up. The Banders had done their homework; Richard had never bothered to conceal the strength of his crusaders’ forces, so anyone paying attention would have realized that the Hunter family boasted more than two dozen knights.

This was why the Bander family had prioritized requesting aid from Richard—they knew that the Hunter family had the capacity to help them.

The envoy had thought he had grasped the extent of the Hunter family’s power, but it seemed he had underestimated them. The fact that they could dispatch twenty knights was impressive—other than the Lancelot family, no other noble clan in the northern lands could boast such strength.

Of course, the envoy had no idea these knights were newly recruited, and that none of them had been part of the Hunter family’s original forces.

“Lord Richard, are you certain?”

“Twenty knights, at least, and possibly more. If I fall short by even one, you need not pay me a single gold piece.”

“Very well, let’s agree on a hundred thousand gold pieces. Lord Richard, please deploy your troops as soon as possible.”

Although this sum exceeded the authority given to Baron Barend, the envoy was no fool; he knew that the Bander family wasn’t the only noble clan contributing to the payment. Although a large sum, if all the noble families of the Fifth War Zone contributed, it would be no problem to raise the necessary funds. After all, what were riches compared to their lives?

“Rest assured, my vanguard will depart at once, and no fewer than two thousand reinforcements will follow.”

Aside from the Bander family’s cooperation, another reason for Richard’s swift deployment was that scout griffins had discovered that the man-eating demons had begun raiding villages belonging to several noble families in the Fifth War Zone.

In the face of this savage threat, the noble families sealed themselves within their castles, afraid to engage in battle against such a foe.

After all, the Northern Expeditionary Army had been defeated; who would be so brave as to engage the enemy in open battle? If reinforcements were not sent, the next victims after the Barend family would be his own territory.

“Then I will accompany Lord Richard.”

The Barend family’s envoy clearly intended to wait for Richard’s troops to mobilize before moving out. Richard didn’t mind; he hadn’t planned to deceive them anyway, so he sent the man away to rest.

“Summon all officers of regimental commander rank and above to the Boule Chamber.”

“Yes, Lord Richard.”

A messenger, who stood by the door at all times, jogged away, afraid that even a second’s delay might hinder the execution of Richard’s orders…