Professional Team

Professional Team

Upon hearing that a magical beast had appeared in the territory, Lynn showed no sign of impatience.

He remained seated at the dining table, spooning porridge with one hand while holding a freshly roasted, juicy leg of lamb in the other. He even invited Old Albert to sit down and eat.

"Have you eaten? Join me for a bite."

"My lord, this really isn't the time to eat lamb. That magical beast has already—"

"No rush. Sit down and tell me slowly."

Hurrying would not solve the problem, and in Lynn's eyes, a mere magical beast was no problem at all.

These days, horse bandits and mercenaries could switch roles seamlessly.

In the Northern Border, one of the mercenaries' main lines of work was helping lords across the land eliminate magical beasts.

In other words, dealing with magical beasts was his specialty.

Seeing how calm the lord was, Old Albert, who had been panicking moments ago, calmed down somewhat.

Just then, his son Little Albert brought over a stool. With his legs gone weak, Old Albert dropped onto it and quickly reported the situation.

"My lord, I received word this morning. A giant magical beast has appeared at Manor No. 5 on the western side of the territory. They say that damned creature is seven meters tall. The whole village is practically being destroyed by the beast!"

White Bear Territory had five manors in total. Manor No. 5 in the west was the farthest from the Castle and had the smallest population, just over two hundred people scattered across two villages.

Lynn calmly asked, "How many magical beasts are there exactly?"

"Probably just one Demon Bear. It looks much like a Brown Bear, but its entire body is snow-white."

Still shaken, Old Albert patted his chest. He had truly been frightened badly.

If a seven-meter-tall Demon Bear went berserk, all of Manor No. 5 would be flattened.

The last time White Bear Territory had suffered an attack by a large magical beast was more than twenty years ago.

Old Albert remembered that incident vividly.

The creature that had attacked the territory then was a white Demon Bear that stood nearly six meters tall.

That damned beast possessed immense strength, and its fur was exceptionally thick. Ordinary weapons could not harm it in the slightest.

"Oh, a white Demon Bear. So that's where White Bear Territory got its name. It appeared on the western side of the territory too, so the previous baron most likely died in its jaws." Lynn continued eating meat and drinking porridge without the slightest hurry.

"My lord, we need to gather people and kill that Demon Bear quickly! If we wait any longer, Manor No. 5 may be completely gone!"

Old Albert was so anxious that he practically had sparks flying from his mouth.

Based on what had happened over twenty years ago, frail yet nimble humans were not prey that giant Demon Bears found particularly appealing.

Livestock with strong musky smells, such as horses and sheep, as well as grain stored inside houses, were the Demon Bear's primary targets.

To prey on livestock and raid stored grain, Demon Bears would usually rip roofs off by force, leaving entire villages in ruins.

There were only two weeks left before Spring Planting began.

If all the farmhouses in Manor No. 5 were destroyed, it would inevitably affect the Spring Planting plans for the entire territory.

Without Draft Horses, the serfs would be unable to operate Heavy Plows.

Without goats and stored grain, they would struggle to survive until the Autumn Harvest.

White Bear Territory would also lose more than two hundred people from its labor force for no reason at all, and might even have to squeeze out food from elsewhere to provide relief for those serfs.

"No rush. I'll handle this."

Lynn remained calm and composed. The Pea Porridge in his bowl was nearly gone.

No one in all of White Bear Territory knew better than he did how to deal with magical beasts.

The news had come from the westernmost edge of the territory, and at least an hour had already passed since the magical beast attacked the village.

By the time Lynn returned to the Castle, gathered his men, prepared weapons and equipment, and then rushed to the western side of the territory, another hour or two would pass.

In two or three hours, that Demon Bear would have had more than enough time to eat its fill, drink its fill, and return to its lair for a nap. If he rushed to the scene in a panic, he would probably not even catch sight of the Demon Bear's shadow.

"My lord, shouldn't we go to Three Rivers City and hire some mercenaries?"

Old Albert knew very little about magical beasts and had no idea how capable the lord's men were. He was desperately grasping at any solution he could think of.

More than twenty years ago, White Bear Territory had spent a great deal of money to hire mercenaries before they finally killed that damned magical beast.

Yet even with the mercenaries' help, White Bear Territory had still paid the price of one knight and several retainers killed in battle.

"There's no need. It's only a bear. Before sunset tomorrow, I'll bring its corpse back to the Castle."

With that, Lynn finished the last spoonful of porridge and bit off the last piece of meat from the lamb leg.

Before leaving, he summoned the Farm Manager of the village and praised him. "Your wife is a fine cook. If she's willing, have her report to the Castle tomorrow. I'll arrange a position for her as a cook, with a monthly wage of two silver coins."

The Farm Manager was overjoyed.

Work at the Castle came with food and lodging by default, which meant she would earn two silver coins clear every month.

Over a year, that would be enough to buy nearly a ton of Rye, enough to feed a family of five serfs.

Setting aside the generous wages, his wife would also become someone who served at the lord's side.

If she could please the lord's palate, he might someday rise through his wife's status as well, just like Old Albert, completing the transformation from Farm Manager to steward and then to Territory Steward.

Amid the Farm Manager and his wife's repeated thanks, Lynn's patrol squad set out on the return journey to the Castle. Old Albert joined them, his heart full of unease.

Although the lord had confidently made such a bold claim, Old Albert truly had no confidence in it.

A Demon Bear nearly seven meters tall, impervious to blades and spears.

Good heavens, could something like that really be handled by a little over twenty people?

The lord's men did not look particularly reliable either.

The moment they entered the Castle, Lynn gave his orders. "Hugh, gather everyone. Put on your chainmail and bring shields, bows, arrows, and spears. Make sure the spears are the longest ones we have. Also, bring all three of those fine-steel Heavy Crossbows."

Hugh was Second Brother's name.

In front of outsiders, Lynn naturally could not call him Second Brother. He had to address him by his real name.

Second Brother moved with remarkable speed after receiving the order.

In less than half an hour, all twenty-five horse bandits in the Castle had assembled, with only Lao San and two underlings missing, as they had gone to Three Rivers City to deliver a letter.

Standing beside Lynn, Old Albert examined these heavily equipped, murderous Northern Border men and nearly had his eyes pop out of his head.

If he remembered correctly, full-body chainmail should have been quite expensive, shouldn't it?

In Three Rivers City, it would sell for at least fifteen gold coins.

When the previous lord was still alive, only proper knights could afford such things. Ordinary knight retainers would already be lucky to wear half armor.

How did every one of them have a set?

Good heavens, what were these fine-steel Heavy Crossbows?

He had never seen anything like them!

The crossbow limbs even appeared to be made entirely of metal. Was this really a weapon that humans could use?

It was no wonder Old Albert was shocked. When Lynn had first arrived in White Bear Territory a few days ago, their armor and heavy weapons had all been stored in their carts.

Who would wear armor while traveling in such cold weather? Wouldn't that be asking for misery?

Now that they had donned their armor and taken up their weapons, the imposing aura of a professional team instantly surged forth.

This was an elite band of horse bandits who had roamed the Northern Border. Why would they fear a mere magical beast?

Lynn took off his wool coat for warmth and changed into full-body chainmail. He deliberately wore the Cold Wind Family's surcoat over it, with two upright pine trees embroidered over the left side of his chest.

He slung a Heavy Crossbow over his shoulder and beckoned to the stunned Old Albert. "Albert."

"Yes, my lord. I'm here, I'm here."

"Stay behind and guard the Castle for me. I'll be back soon."

(End of Chapter)