“After a night of rest, we can move out tomorrow, so long as the Bandel family cooperates.”

Richard’s goal was to eradicate the man-eating demons, so he obviously wouldn’t take the gold pieces without doing the job. Moreover, eliminating the man-eating demons would not only earn them experience points, it was also related to his personal quest.

Even if they couldn’t extort a large sum from the Bandel family, Richard likely would have taken the opportunity to reap some rewards.

“I’m not sure what Master Richard needs from our cooperation; please do tell, and the Bandel family will spare no effort to assist.”

Compared to Richard’s attitude of wanting to farm experience and complete quests, Baron Bandel was the one who was desperate for a solution. After all, the longer they delayed, the more havoc the man-eating demons would wreak upon his territory.

If things dragged on any longer, perhaps only Bandel Castle would remain standing in the entirety of the Barand territory.

“The nobles of the fifth war zone will contribute troops in proportion to their strength. Every noble knight must participate, and each must bring at least five quasi-knights and 100 soldiers, along with auxiliary forces.

I don’t care about the auxiliary forces, but the soldiers must be professionals from each noble family—no farming militia.”

Three tribes of man-eating demons remained in the Fifth War Zone, one of which led thousands of dog-headed people. Not every tribe of man-eating demons had dog-headed people vassals; only those with sufficient power could entice such tribes to pledge allegiance.

Conservatively estimating, three small tribes still contained over a thousand man-eating demons, and at least five hundred of them were quasi-knight level fighters.

It was hard to say whether Richard’s team could defeat them, but even if they won, the cost would be unacceptable to Richard. After all, man-eating demons were no weaklings.

In terms of combat prowess, Richard had over twenty crusaders, giving him an overwhelming advantage against a single knight. However, five hundred fearless quasi-knight fighters would definitely pose a threat.

Though Richard had come to rescue the villages, he wasn’t here to be philanthropic. He did not wish to suffer heavy losses, and last night’s battle, though a decisive victory, still resulted in the heartbreaking loss of several foot soldiers.

That was why he needed every noble family to send reinforcements to make up for his own deficiencies.

“Understood,” Baron Bandel agreed without hesitation.

If they had been capable of defeating the cannibals, the noble families would have long united to drive them away. Unfortunately, prior to Richard’s arrival, the families’ combined forces were no match for the tribes. Thus, the idea of a united front had been impossible to realize.

Now, with Richard and his twenty-some knights arriving, requesting aid, Baron Bandel naturally complied.

“Then, please allow Master Richard and your men to rest tonight. I will immediately contact the other families, and I presume they will be willing to send aid.”

Although each noble family was trapped within their respective castles, communication between them had never been severed. In fact, Baron Bandel swiftly made contact with them all.

“Mm,” Richard acknowledged. After settling the main matter, he had no intention of wasting more time on trivial conversation with Baron Bandel. Following the Bander family’s arrangements, he settled into a clean, luxurious room.

After a full day of forced marches yesterday, followed by a strenuous battle in the middle of the night, even the knights, tough as they were, were worn out. Richard wanted to get some rest.

By early morning, the light rain that had fallen throughout the night had stopped, leaving only a few droplets of dew on the grass and tree branches. The damp air carried with it the fragrance of the verdant foliage, filling the nostrils with a sense of freshness and vitality.

Richard rose early in the morning, politely declining the Bandel family’s offer of a servant to accompany him, and began his habitual inspection of the troops under his command. These soldiers, produced by the System, were the finest elite troops, and even a nitpicker like Richard couldn’t find any flaws in their performance.

Arriving at the training grounds, he saw that the Bandel family’s forces had also gathered there, causing some degree of commotion. Over a hundred armored warriors were lined up in rows of four or five, exuding a formidable air.

Yet without comparison, there could be no harm, and the Bandel family’s soldiers, though they were trained full-time and could be considered elite, paled in comparison to Richard’s System soldiers. A simple inspection of their formation and discipline revealed that, between the System army and even the rapidly expanding Flying Bear Army, the Bandel family’s forces fell short.

Next to them, an equal number of peasant soldiers stood in disordered rows, some holding long spears, others bamboo guns.

“Master Richard,” Baron Bandel greeted Richard, who was standing on the raised platform, from afar.

“All the families have agreed to send troops. We can assemble at the shoals tomorrow.”

This was quite a swift resolution. In times of peace, the families would take at least a week to discuss mobilization. Now, they had settled on a time within two days, perfectly demonstrating the meaning of “no pressure, no motivation.”

“Very well. Baron Bandel, lead your forces and we shall depart forthwith.”

“Right away… Wait, what?”

“Ah? They’ll only arrive at the shoals tomorrow?” Baron Bandel responded reflexively before realizing that Richard meant they were leaving immediately, not tomorrow.

It would take no more than a few hours to march from Bandel Fortress to the shoals; there was no need to depart so early.

“That’s right, now.”

“We’ll head to the nearest tribe of man-eating demons to Bandel Castle first, then meet up at the shoals.”

It had been less than a day since Richard annihilated the tribe settled near Stag Village. Given the crude communication methods of the demons, they likely hadn’t yet caught on to their disappearance.

However, if they waited for all the noble families’ forces to gather, Stag Village’s demon tribe remained quiet for two days, even the dumbest of demons would realize something was amiss.

Baron Bandel quickly weighed his options in his mind. Launching a preemptive strike now would allow them to deal with the greatest threat: the man-eating demons closest to Bandel Castle. Furthermore, joining forces with Richard’s troops virtually guaranteed victory, keeping casualties within an acceptable range.

In the end, it was the twenty-some knights who gave Baron Bandel confidence in this endeavor, allowing him to depart with Richard ahead of schedule.

“Clunk, clunk~”

As the drawbridge lowered, the iron gates of Bandel Castle slowly opened once again.

Richard, Ron, and Baron Bandel led the procession on horseback, followed by the crusaders, pike men, and marksmen in their organized formations. The Bandel family brought up the rear, though they were hardly noticeable as a force.

From the perspective of a griffin, Richard had locked onto the location of the nearby bandit camp long before they set off. As soon as they exited the city, they rode straight toward it. Within four hours, they approached the camp, which seemed to have just finished raiding, complete with captives and loot being loaded onto wagons.

“How brazen.”

Despite being so close to Bandel Castle, the bandits marched with their captives and loot without any care, their formation stretched out for quite a distance with practically no guards—clearly, they feared no attack from a human army.

Perhaps it was because the human armies they had encountered so far had been too weak to pose any threat, but rather than raising their guard, they had grown complacent.

However, this was good news for Richard; the more careless the enemy, the easier it would be for him to secure victory.

“Cavalry, follow me. Prepare for battle.” Richard’s strategy was straightforward: concentrate the cavalry and charge straight into the midst of the marching bandits, disrupting their formation, then send in the infantry to surround and annihilate them. By leveraging their superior numbers and firepower, they could minimize casualties.