Bolay City

The human mind was adept at forgetting. After all, life must go on.

It had been only two days since the battle at Saide Fort, yet Bolay City had already returned to its former prosperity, with people coming and going in the streets. Perhaps it was because the fight had begun so abruptly, ending almost as quickly, with no real casualties to speak of, and thus not making much of an impression on the people.

As for the fact that the rulers of Bolay City had changed, the common folk cared little whether their masters were the twelve noble families who founded the city or the infamous usurper Sol; so long as they could continue to make a living, it mattered little to them.

The city hall of Bolay City,

Now serving as Sol’s temporary office, this building once loyal to the twelve noble families now wholeheartedly accepted Sol’s orders. Since the day before, when he dealt with the Saide family, Sol had wrested control of the situation.

Though it was difficult to say whether the same could be said of the River Valley as a whole, with Dayne’s cooperation, Bolay City was firmly under Sol’s control.

Against Sol, with his overwhelming military power, the remaining eleven noble families could only swallow their anger, not daring to voice any discontent, not even showing it on their faces. At Sol’s request, they relinquished all occupied military fields and furthermore provided provisions for the army supporting the northern lands without compensation.

Furthermore, in accordance with Sol’s wishes, each noble family provided large numbers of their professional soldiers to bolster the guard regiments, which were replenishing their ranks.

It was one thing to pay money and provide food, but now they had to give up people as well, and all for free, with no compensation whatsoever. In a sense, Sol’s demands were even more onerous than Richard’s.

Yet Sol had the confidence to do this, for he held the mantle of justice and had the absolute power to back it up. Any noble who refused would find the Saide family’s fate a cautionary tale.

“Cooze, how’s the progress today?”

“The soldiers from the various families have already reported to the guard regiments, nearly three thousand of them. No one dared falsify their numbers, as all are elite forces trained for long-term service.”

A seasoned officer like Cooze could tell at a glance whether a soldier was new or a veteran of many battles. No one would risk falsifying such matters, and even if some noble had such intentions, they would be crushed by Sol’s overwhelming military power.

“Over two thousand new recruits were recruited today as well, and they’ve already begun emergency training.”

Each noble family providing close to three thousand professional fighters already pushed them to their limits. These were not farmers fresh off the fields, but career soldiers with years of training under their belts; they came at a high cost.

The River Valley’s environment was relatively safe, with few external threats, so even if the noble families possessed greater wealth, they wouldn’t choose to spend it all on maintaining troops. To replenish their forces, they would have to rely primarily on newly recruited soldiers.

Fortunately, although the noble families of the River Valley were wealthy, there were still many poor commoners at the bottom of their social pyramid. With the financial resources of the River Valley’s nobles, as well as the riches and provisions confiscated from the Saide family, Sol could offer a relatively high level of compensation to new recruits.

The recruitment of his new army proceeded at a decent pace. According to Sol’s calculations, he should be able to support at least two legions with the River Valley’s wealth alone.

“How is the recruitment of knights progressing?”

“Since we announced the opportunity yesterday, three knights have already enlisted today, along with ten quasi-knights.”

Sol nodded, satisfied with this progress. The message had not been disseminated for long, so once word-of-mouth spread, even more knights should appear in the coming days.

“See that they are properly settled.”

Aside from replenishing existing legions and establishing new ones, another major concern was attracting enough knights to join the northern campaign.

The Imperial Capital had announced a bounty for this expedition: military achievements earned in battle against the orcs could count toward a title of nobility and a territory grant. Knights without either would surely vie for these rewards.

In the past, the most valuable military achievement in the kingdom had been the heads of beasts. Those who wanted to be knighted could only wait at Dragon’s Breath Pass for an opportunity to fight a beast, and thus earn some merit.

Some soldiers had spent more than a decade there without encountering a major battle, leaving them unable to accumulate the necessary merit for knighthood.

“Sir Sol.”

Dane entered from the door. Although he was still a mere soldier, Sol had given him some temporary duties, making his continued service as a soldier more of a symbolic punishment.

Over the past few days, Dane had demonstrated his value. As long as he remained useful, Sol would continue to employ him. He wasn’t afraid that Dane would attempt any shenanigans under his nose, and neither were any of his subordinates, who still worked diligently alongside Dane.

“Sir Sol, the search of the Saide family’s assets in Bolay City has been completed.”

Sol had tasked Dane with asset forfeitures, which required skillful execution, not just taking all the goods inside a house. The items seized were merely a drop in the ocean compared to the Saide family’s wealth. The majority of their assets lay outside in the form of land deeds, factories, and goods piled up in warehouses.

Dane knew this business best, so he was well-suited to the task. He could even send some men to supervise the process, which would yield good results.

“Convert everything into gold pieces as quickly as possible. For the provisions, contact Flooding Snow City and have them transport it back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Those land deeds, shops, and jewels were of no use to Sol, so he might as well sell them for something more practical to support his army. The nobles of the River Valley supplied the provisions for their soldiers free of charge, so there was no shortage of food. Transporting it to Flooding Snow City would help alleviate their emergency food shortage.

After delegating the tasks at hand, Sol stood and walked to the window, gazing at the bustling conscription office.

“Ah…”

“Why does my lord sigh?”

Cooze, who followed behind Sol, was puzzled. In his eyes, everything was going quite smoothly; there seemed to be no reason to sigh.

“Still too slow.”

Sol had thought that, with the foundation of the guard in the River Valley and the addition of some noble volunteers, he could quickly assemble an army and advance north. Yet the region’s rottenness had proven more widespread than expected, forcing him to pause and reorganize. At this rate, it would be quite a while before he could march north…