A Terrifying Henry! An Invitation from the Seventh Legion

The new recruits marched out of the barracks in formation and immediately saw the bandits burning, killing, and looting.

Henry sat atop his tall warhorse and swiftly scanned the area, gaining a rough grasp of the enemy's numbers.

Several dozen Horse Bandits and over a hundred Bandits—these were no ordinary bandits. Six or seven groups had joined together!

Damn desperadoes.

"Sir! Why have you come out?"

Henry turned and saw Claude approaching with ten Veteran Skirmishers, a one-handed sword in hand. When the Bandits saw the javelins and armor carried by the Skirmishers, they hurriedly moved aside.

"Claude, take the men inside. Protect Tommy, my Cook, and the two maids. I need to train the troops."

Seeing Henry fully armed, Claude did not try to dissuade him. He quickly led the men into the barracks. With that suit of armor, let alone fighting bandits, Henry would be a meat grinder even on a battlefield.

Henry's weapons, horses, and food were all inside the barracks. No matter how much the bandits looted outside, Henry would not lose much. At worst, it would only slow the construction of the castle.

But in Henry's eyes, this was a rare opportunity to train his troops.

The Horse Bandits saw the situation clearly. No one wanted to fight Henry, so they rode far away and slaughtered the construction workers and the small trade caravan escort of only thirty men.

The poor caravan guards. These bandits had been watching this place for a long time, merely waiting for a day when their numbers were low during a shift change.

Irritated, Henry drew an Armor-Piercing Arrow and fired at a Horse Bandit swaggering around more than sixty paces away. A direct headshot!

He had been quickly checking how many people each side had in the fight, but that bastard had been riding around on his lousy horse, yelling and screaming nonstop. It was annoying.

"Hmm, moving targets... New Recruit Squad, advance in Shield Formation and slaughter the Bandits on foot! Bain, hunt the Horse Bandits with me!"

Maintaining their Shield Formation, the New Recruit Squad slowly advanced toward the Bandits flaunting their might around the workers' camp.

The Bandits were desperadoes who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Faced with a dark mass of over a hundred troops in formation, they could only retreat behind their companions and push other Bandits to the front.

The New Recruit Squad all wore Cotton Armor, and nearly every shield bore Henry's Family Coat of Arms. At the very least, they looked like a proper regular army. Any Bandit who tried to approach—or simply wandered too close—would be surrounded and hacked to death by the recruits.

Henry watched several Bandits collapse to the ground with four or five horrifying wounds suddenly appearing across their bodies, blood gurgling out as if the earth itself were bleeding. The tension in his heart finally eased.

Henry did not know what was happening to him. Seeing the blood and hearing the shouts of battle around him, he gradually became excited.

Henry swung his heavy steppe cavalry lance and shouted, "Henry Burley! For the glory of the nobility!"

Bain also grabbed his lance and charged alongside Henry!

Henry took the lead and charged into the enemy formation. The Bandits scattered in panic at the sight, leaving Henry to ride through them as though no one were there.

Hmph, what a bunch of cowardly rats!

Henry casually skewered two Bandits who failed to dodge in time. The sharp lance tip, driven by the speed of the warhorse, easily sliced through their throats, and rust-scented tomato juice sprayed out like a fountain.

Bain even roared as he impaled a Bandit and lifted him into the air. Although there was no real point in doing so and it wasted a great deal of strength.

Still, such a display was immensely intimidating to the enemy.

Henry stopped playing with these Bandits, who could not even form a battle line, and instead turned to hunt the Horse Bandits. In his eyes, those swift prey were far more interesting.

"Hit!"

"Hit!"

"Hit!"

The arrows Henry fired seemed to have automatic tracking. Every shot found its mark. Even when he failed to hit a person, he would bring down the horse, then ride close and finish the target with his Knight Sword.

Killed Bandit, Experience +8

Killed Bandit, Experience +11

Killed Horse Bandit, Experience +27

Killed Horse Bandit, Experience +30

Killed Bandit Leader, Experience +22

Killed Horse Bandit, Experience +...

From time to time, Horse Bandits' arrows struck Henry without causing him any pain. They either bounced straight off his armor or stuck to it as decorations.

Armor against no armor was simply a massacre!

Shouts of killing rose all across the battlefield, and blood splattered everywhere. The New Recruit Squad was like a meat grinder, gradually grinding the Bandits to pieces.

The dozen or so caravan guards who had survived through sheer struggle also moved near the New Recruit Squad, which gave them a tremendous sense of security.

Though they wore equipment such as Leather Armor and Cotton Armor, and their weapons were better than those of the New Recruit Squad, they did not have nearly as many men!

How did this knight train such a private army? Why are these Infantry not afraid of death?

Yes, in their eyes, these were no New Recruits. New Recruits were cowards in Linen Clothes carrying farm tools! Men in Cotton Armor, holding shields, swords, and blades, calmly forming up to kill enemies—those were clearly qualified Infantry!

The Bandits were beginning to break as well. Too many people around them had died. They could not keep fighting.

The Bandits instantly scattered and fled. They had only gathered together to pull off something big because they could no longer rob enough money or food. Now that so many had died without gaining much money, only fools would stay!

Those who fought to the death without retreating were the King's elite legions!

Seeing the right moment, Henry shouted, "Charge! Kill every one of these filthy raiders!"

He did not need prisoners. There were no mines in his territory that needed labor, and they would not fetch much money anyway. He did not have enough manpower to watch these desperadoes.

Once they had picked up swords, they could never put them down again. They could not possibly become Serfs once more.

The New Recruit Squad immediately broke formation, spreading out with shields in hand to hunt down the Bandits. Nearly three men chased each Bandit down and hacked at him, leaving the caravan guards dumbfounded.

What the hell? Why was their will to fight so high? How much was Knight Henry paying them?

The Horse Bandits fled extremely quickly, so Henry could only leave behind four more men for the grave. Worth mentioning was that Bain used a short javelin to pierce a Horse Bandit leader from afar, one wearing hardened Leather Armor sewn with iron plates.

"Not bad, Bain. You've improved. I'd had my eye on that Horse Bandit leader for quite a while, but I didn't expect you to take him down."

"I only killed two Bandits and two Horse Bandits. You are the true Knight."

Henry laughed heartily. This time, he had gained more than six hundred experience points. Experience came fast on the battlefield!

The battle ended quickly. The Bandits who had gathered together so aggressively to rob people only moments ago could no longer make a sound.

Looking at the corpses covering the ground, Henry turned to the elite recruits and said, "Clean up the battlefield. Gather everything you see and carry it into the barracks."

The recruits moved quickly, gathering the dead Bandits, construction workers, and caravan guards in one place before stripping them clean.

The caravan guards were angry but dared not say anything. They had failed in their duty as guards, and they were likely to lose their jobs over this. How could they spare any thought for such things?

Henry and Bain each went to collect the uninjured horses left behind by the Horse Bandits. These horses were the real wealth.

In the end, Henry gathered eleven Travel Horses. Whether for marching or farming, they would be useful beasts of burden.

Henry returned to the castle and found Claude guarding the Warehouse. Smiling, he said, "Claude, why are you still so frightened here? Your chest is soaked through."

"Thank goodness you're all right, sir. I'm only good at organizing administrative affairs and counting population and taxes. I've never killed anyone."

Henry waved a hand and had Claude take men out to count the casualties and gains. Right now, he needed some honey water to calm himself down.

"Sir, we killed twenty-three Horse Bandits and sixty-seven Bandits. Thirty-two Serfs were wounded, mostly stabbed by the Bandits' daggers or hit by stones. Two Serfs died."

Henry raised a hand to interrupt Claude. "They are not Serfs. They are the New Recruit Squad. They are qualified Warriors."

Claude froze for a moment, then nodded. "Of course, sir. They are all your Serfs. Whatever you say they are, that is what they are.

"Since they are now your private soldiers, should I tear up their slave contracts and make them Free People of West Lyme?"

In the Empire, only nobles and Landlords could own Serfs. How Serfs became Free People or Tenant Farmers depended on the laws set by different nobles. The King had no unified regulations on this matter.

"That's fine. Continue. How much did we gain?"

"Sir, we found a total of seven Denar, three silver coins, and six Sou on the bodies. Six iron swords, twelve iron blades, two shields, eleven hunting bows, and more than four hundred arrows. One damaged set of Leather Armor, three sets of Cotton Armor, and one set of hardened stitched leather armor.

"Thirty-three hoes, fifteen pitchforks, seven axes, and sixteen sickles. There were also eleven Travel Horses, all usable."

Henry nodded and arranged, "Send the farm tools and horses to the Subsidiary Village. Repair the weapons and store them in the armory.

"As for the money, reward it to the recruits. They are qualified Warriors now. Do not forget to pay them at the end of the month—thirty Sou each."

Claude nodded and memorized all of Henry's orders before asking, "Sir, where are these recruits supposed to spend money after receiving it?"

Henry rubbed his chin. That really was a problem.

But Henry did not dwell on it for long. These soldiers would find a use for money sooner or later. He might as well pay them wages now; it would return to his hands eventually anyway.

Over the next few days, Henry became busy again.

Baron Pedro first sent a letter of concern, expressing worry for Henry's safety and stating that he would certainly not delay the construction schedule.

He also mentioned Henry's private army. According to intelligence from his caravan guards, Henry's private force had already reached over a hundred men and possessed considerable combat strength.

As for Henry? In the caravan guards' accounts, he was utterly terrifying, a man who killed without blinking.

Baron Pedro hoped Henry would train his army well and help his son gain enough land to fulfill their wager agreement.

Henry naturally sent a reply, stating that he was well and would not forget their agreement.

Then came the second letter—or rather, two letters from Earl John.

The first said that public security along the border was extremely poor, with many villages having been plundered. It warned Henry not to lower his guard and to watch for other desperadoes near his territory.

It also subtly stated that he would not widely publicize his son's victory in the Arena Tournament, so as not to bring Henry too much trouble.

The second letter spoke of a major event! A border viscount had been stripped of his title by the King, and his lands had been reclaimed. All of that viscount's Fiefs had also lost their noble status.

The King directly controlled one city and its Subsidiary Village from the viscount's territory, while the remaining land was granted to three Barons and seven Knights, all nobles who had once served as the King's court sword-bearers.

Henry pursed his lips at this. The King's authority was truly terrifying. In the Calradia Empire, the saying "my vassal's vassal is not my vassal" applied just the same.

However, it was not that they had no hierarchical relationship. Rather, in the King's eyes, the Fiefs of the King's Fiefs were not nobles at all.

There had once been a case where an Earl was eliminated and his Fiefs rebelled. In the end, the entire family was slaughtered by the royal house, and their heads hung from the Gatehouse of the royal capital for a full two months.

That act thoroughly intimidated the nobles within the Empire who sought to weaken royal authority.

After that, the King issued a new decree. Only the King's Fiefs counted as Independent Nobles. The Fiefs of Independent Nobles possessed sufficient noble authority only within their own Liege Lord's territory. Before other Fiefs of the King, they were all merely Honorary Nobles.

The viscount's downfall was caused by his failure to promptly report an invasion by the Foreign Races, as well as selling Slaves to them in exchange for minerals.

Those were terrifying charges, enough to end both his political life and his actual life.

Henry wrote back to Earl John, thanking him for his concern and information.

The third letter, however, was the most important one! It was an invitation from the Legion Commander of the King's standing Seventh Legion!

*Dear Lord of West Lyme, Knight Henry Burley, greetings. I am Earl Sebastian Thor Sauer, Legion Commander of the Empire's standing Seventh Legion and one of the King's court sword-bearing nobles.

My army has arrived at Autongard. I hope you will lead your troops to join us. You will receive a fair share of the spoils and compensation.*