Episode 160: Is it better to hit first? (2)
“Look at this? Anyway, these days, people have no faith, no faith.”
Jiselle clicked her tongue at the indifferent reactions of those around her and continued speaking.
“I have never been defeated in a single war I have commanded.”
It was quite an arrogant statement. No great general would dare say such a thing.
But Jiselle had no shame. After receiving the title of King of Mercenaries, he had never once lost a battle.
Although he lost his life in the last war, it is meaningless since he returned to the past.
Belinda covered her mouth with her hand and laughed faintly at Giselle’s confident words.
‘Oh, our master is so cute. After fighting a war just once… … Well, he won, so it’s not wrong to say that.’
Other people had similar thoughts. It’s not a lie after all, since it’s 1 win, 0 losses, and 1 loss.
It’s a shame, but Jiselle’s official war victory rate was 100%.
Giselle noticed what the people were thinking and smacked her lips.
‘Oh, this is true. I’m 100% victorious, but you don’t believe me.’
Claude looked at Giselle with sad eyes for a moment and then said.
“I’ve heard several times that your lord is quite the fighter. But you wouldn’t be going in alone, would you? Even if you were to select all the combat-capable people among the settlers, there wouldn’t be more than a thousand.”
They say that thousands of people came in, but excluding the elderly, there aren’t many people who can actually fight.
The thousand that Claude had mentioned was only an estimate.
“Even if you make them all soldiers, they will be nothing more than a rabble without proper training. How can you fight a war with such troops?”
“Sure, no matter how strong I am, it would be a bit difficult with that force. It’s not like I can’t win, but… … . There’s no need to make that many sacrifices.”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. So the war will happen next time… … .”
“No. I’ll get the troops I need. And we can just increase the strength of our current force to the level of thousands.”
Claude’s heart sank at the absurdity of the story. If that were possible, why would the other lords be so obsessed with increasing their forces?
Especially in a time-pressed situation like now, no matter how hard you train, there is a limit to how strong you can become.
Just before he opened his mouth to refute, Giselle’s calm voice rang out first.
“The Knights of Fenris are founded.”
The gathered attendants blinked for a moment, doubting whether they had heard correctly.
Creating an order of knights without a single knight was the most novel nonsense I’d ever heard.
What is an article?
It was a kind of combat weapon that could change the course of war.
The outcome of a war was often determined by how many knights each side had and how high their level was.
At least a few dozen such knights had to gather to be called an order.
That is why the ‘Knights’ became a means of showing off the power of the territory and a symbol of military force.
But when Giselle, who was preparing for war, suddenly mentioned the Knights Templar, everyone was dumbfounded.
‘No, do you think you can become a knight just by gathering dogs and cows and giving them a name?’
‘At the very least, you need to know how to use mana to be recognized as a knight, but how many people like that are there in our territory? There’s no way the lord wouldn’t know that, right?’
The Knights Templar usually operate only in large territories larger than a countship, and in most territories, there are no Knights Templar.
Usually, only a few knights would serve the lord, especially in a barony.
The article is a very high-level power, so it is not easy to obtain even if you have a lot of money, and the cost of maintaining that power is not small.
Of course, there was not a single person in Fenris who had been formally knighted.
Claude said, not hiding his bewilderment.
“How do you create an order without knights?”
“So, we need to start making them now. We’ll make all the mercenaries that are currently there and those who joined this time into knights. Of course, we’ll only contract new mercenaries who want to be knights, and we’ll also have to make them knights.”
“You’re making… an article?”
“Yeah, I can make it in two months.”
‘The article is not like the bread made by a bakery… … .’
How can you raise these people into knights in two months when they don’t even know how to use mana properly?
“No, even the lowest-ranking knight needs to be able to handle mana to be recognized as a knight… … . Huh? No way?”
In Claude’s mind, the mana concentration circle that he had previously created at great expense came to mind.
At the time, it was used to create monster wheat, but it was originally used to train knights.
Jiselle nodded as if she had just realized it.
“You can force them to learn Mana. It’s hard to get to a high level, but even the lowest-level knights can be raised quickly. I plan on teaching them the Mana training method myself.”
“No!”
At that moment, Belinda’s sharp voice cut off Giselle’s words.
Jiselle asked back in surprise.
“Oh, that’s a surprise. Why?”
“I’m going to teach you the Ferdium family’s mana training method!”
As far as she knows, the only mana training method that Giselle has learned is that of the Ferdium family.
It is common sense in this day and age that the family lineage system should not be carelessly leaked.
But Giselle answered nonchalantly.
“I think so, but what’s wrong with that? Of course, you need mana training to make an article.”
“That’s the family’s vision! Why would you call it a vision?”
The Mana Training Method cannot be learned by anyone other than a member of the family or someone with the permission of the head of the family. It cannot be leaked to others either.
Because the Mana Training Method is the means to maintain the power and authority of the family and territory.
But Giselle had no interest in useless fame or power.
If you use that as an excuse to save money when a crisis is imminent, it will all be in vain if you die.
“If we need the family vision, we should use it all. We need to create a strong force right away, right?”
“But that training method belongs to the Ferdium family. You know very well that you shouldn’t leak it out carelessly, right?”
“It’s already leaking out to the collateral lineage, or through my personal disciples. Why are you asking me this now…? In the first place, not all knights these days are nobles. Didn’t they learn the method of training by stealing it from some family?”
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“That, that’s different! That’s a minority!”
There are times when the method of training is passed down between a master and a disciple, as in the case of the magic tower, and if one is talented, he or she may also teach it to commoners after receiving an oath of loyalty and secrecy.
Even if it was kept under the condition of complete secrecy, it was bound to spread little by little over time.
But spreading it out so openly like Giselle was a completely different story.
“Where on earth can someone share their family’s vision with hundreds of people at the same time!”
“here.”
“… … .”
Belinda was speechless at Giselle’s overly confident attitude and could only let out a frustrated sigh.
‘I was worried because you were so petty when you were little, but now that you’ve grown up, aren’t you too big?’
One person caught Belinda’s eye as she was panicking.
It was Fergus who always followed behind Giselle, seemingly present and absent.
Fergus’ official title was none other than Lord’s Bodyguard.
Of course, the actual escort duties were performed by someone else, but Fergus was still treated as an adult of the estate.
In the first place, no one could mess with him.
Who would find fault with someone who is so caring that the lord personally returns mana to him every day and takes care of his health?
Even now, Fergus is the only person sitting next to Giselle in Daejeon.
Belinda quickly turned to Fergus for support.
He, too, has served Ferdium for a long time, so he will certainly be opposed to it.
“Sir! Young Master, stop him! He’s just spreading the family’s secret method!”
But Fergus miserably betrayed Belinda’s expectations.
“Haha, my young master, do whatever you want.”
Fergus was simply delighted with whatever Giselle did.
It was nice that Jiselle became the lord and ran the estate, and it was also nice that she gathered people like this and held meetings for the estate.
Belinda saw that and realized for sure.
‘That’s right! That’s the smile of a grandfather looking at his youngest grandson! It’s gotten to the point where even if the master plucks out all his beard, he’ll still be pretty!’
Of course, Fergus was also opposed to waging war.
“But, my lord, you must think a little more carefully about war. It is a dangerous thing.”
Jiselle nodded vaguely, looking elsewhere.
Then Fergus shook his head as if he had no choice.
Because I’ve seen it since I was little, I know that when Jiselle acts like that, she won’t listen no matter what.
With Fergus’ support, Giselle stood up even more proudly.
Belinda tried to attack with a different logic.
“Let’s say you take a secret oath and are taught. It’s not easy to learn it, right? It takes at least several years of training, so how can you learn and use mana in two months?”
It was a correct answer. Unfortunately, the Mana training method is not something that can be easily learned.
Mana affects everyone and everyone possesses a small amount of it, but feeling and controlling it requires talent and effort.
But Jiselle said that that wasn’t a problem either.
“It’s okay. I can improve it. I can force it to learn like Vanessa did.”
“You’re forcing us to learn the Mana training method?”
“Yes. My father and the knights of Ferdium will also learn what I have improved. The Ferdium family’s mana cultivation method is now being abandoned. It’s not as good as I thought. I feel a little sorry for the family’s ancestors, though.”
Belinda unconsciously touched her forehead.
‘Oh, I’m going crazy. Does that make sense?’
I understand what Jiselle meant. It is not wrong to say that it is useless to discuss laws and honor after death.
But this was a question of possibility. In two months, hundreds of people would be able to handle mana at the knight level?
There has never been anything like this in history.
Moreover, not only are they disparaging the mana training method of the family that has been guarding the northern frontier for a long time, they are even going to improve it.
You’re not just going to improve it, you’re going to destroy the original after making a counterfeit!
“You’re saying that your highness is going to completely change the Mana training method? If you do it wrong, you’ll be in big trouble. That’s something only a genius can do!”
Why are all the founders of famous Mana training methods great geniuses or heroes?
Mana cultivation method is a training method that has been perfected over at least tens or hundreds of years, so no one can tamper with it without being a genius.
If you learn the wrong training method, you could become a wreck or even die.
“Why? When I was little, you always praised me and said I was a genius.”
“That is, Your Majesty… …!”
Belinda stopped herself as she started to speak. She couldn’t say this in front of people.
‘That’s just an exaggeration to give you confidence when you first don’t wet your pants!’
Giselle shrugged her shoulders at the worried Belinda.
‘There’s absolutely no need to worry.’
In his previous life, he was one of the seven strongest men on the continent.
He had reached a level that transcended humans, and had countlessly torn apart and reworked the Mana training method and thrown it to his subordinates.
“Don’t worry. You know I helped Vanessa when she felt Mana. I can improve her. Don’t you trust me?”
Belinda was almost convinced for a moment by the confident tone.
‘Well, the young master’s mana cultivation method… … has some similarities, but it’s definitely different from that of the Ferdium family.’
Belinda, who was wondering whether to believe it, suddenly came to her senses and shook her head violently.
Because the thing that bad guys usually say the most is, ‘You don’t trust me?’
“That and this are completely different?”
Vanessa was a genius who had trained for years in the Magic Tower, but she only had mana.
It was a completely different situation from teaching mercenaries who knew nothing about mana.
‘I know that you have great mana management skills and special talents, but… … This is really ridiculous. Right now, you’re intoxicated by your own abilities. Everything you do is producing good results, so you’ve gone crazy!’
Oh my god, you’re going to print out a piece of paper that’s not even a piece of bread in two months!
If that were possible, Ferdium would have already taken over the kingdom before Giselle was even born.
Claude, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, quickly intervened.
“My lord, think about it. We are in a very urgent situation right now, and we have a lot to do. You were the one who brought up the war with Count Desmond in the first place, right?”
“however?”
“It would cost a lot of money to prepare for war and develop the territory, right?”
“It’ll cost a lot. Even if I spend all the money I’ve earned and the money I’ll earn in the future, it won’t be enough.”
“But how can you not sell those expensive runestones and use them for mana gathering? If you can’t produce knights in two months, you’re just wasting your money and time!”
Claude raised his voice desperately.
I acknowledge the achievements that Yeongju has shown so far, and I even acknowledge that he possesses mysterious knowledge of unknown origin.
So, can’t you just trust me this one more time?
‘That’s ridiculous! One mistake and we’re all dead!’
Who would so easily agree to such an outrageous proposal when their life is at stake?
Even if we prepare well from now on without wasting a single penny, it is questionable whether we will be able to survive the war.
Because the opponent was Earl Desmond, who was fighting for the position of the strongest in the North.
I absolutely could not agree with Giselle’s plan, which would cost her two months and a huge amount of money.
“If we fail, it will be more dangerous! Can’t we just prepare sensibly?”
As if agreeing with Claude’s cry, the others looked at Giselle with earnest eyes.
But Jiselle just cried indifferently.
“I told you it’s possible? I told you it’s common sense to me. When have you ever seen me talk nonsense? I’m not that kind of person.”
For a moment, everyone’s eyes were focused on Jiselle and silence fell over the area.
If you were to pick the person who is the best at talking nonsense in this territory, it would definitely be the lord.
Fortunately, the results were good, but it still remains nonsense.
Feeling the people’s gaze, Jiselle muttered again.
“This is ridiculous.”
