Part-time Quartermaster

The market in Long River Town.

Even though it was already evening, the market was still bustling with activity.

Unlike Mistveil City, the merchants here generally didn't shout to attract customers.

This was because Long River Town's market was very large, and the shops weren't street-side stalls like in other cities.

Here, each shop was essentially the camp of a merchant caravan, with the selling areas formed by a circle of wagons.

It was a bit like a supermarket, and a bit like a wholesale market.

The caravan that brought Ansen and the others was dealing in coconut wine and art.

Yes, wine and art – two completely different types of goods.

This was because it was a traveling merchant caravan, plying the route between Long River Town and Mistveil City.

In the Long River Town market, they sold coconut wine and bought handicrafts. In Mistveil City, they sold handicrafts and bought coconut wine.

The mercenaries in Long River Town consumed a lot of alcohol, and the coconut wine from the west coast was very popular.

Meanwhile, the ocean-going merchant ships from the west coast favored the exquisite handicrafts made by the Noldo Elves, which could only be obtained from the Long River Forest.

This was a trade route that allowed them to earn the highest profits at both ends.

However, despite the lucrative profits, there weren't many caravans willing to undertake this venture – it was practically equivalent to crossing the entire continent, and the journey was too long and too dangerous. Coconut wine was difficult to preserve in this era, turning sour within a few days. Noldo handicrafts were also hard to acquire.

When Li Ang arrived in front of this caravan, his dozen or so burly subordinates were lying around the caravan's camp, each clutching a jar of coconut wine, swaying unsteadily.

No wonder they were willing to escort them without pay...

Li Ang had thought these Meitengheim Mercenaries had been inspired by Ansen, shedding their base desires for noble sentiments. Turns out, it was all for the alcohol...

The leaders of the caravan were a brother and sister, and they hailed from Barkley.

This made communication between Li Ang and them much smoother; at least they shared a hometown with his current body – though Li Ang himself had never seen what Barkley looked like.

The sister, Lesley, was a pretty merchant by Western standards, with a few freckles on her face. She was cheerful and lively, and became quite enthusiastic upon learning Li Ang was the leader of the group.

"Lord Li Ang, don't you really want a drink? Thanks to you, this coconut wine hasn't gone bad at all!"

Li Ang waved his hand. He had drunk plenty of it in Mistveil City. Freshly harvested natural coconut wine tasted decent, but this version, sealed and with various seasonings added, held no appeal for him.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Lesley. I just came to check on these scoundrels... and to procure some provisions."

"Please don't punish them, they've been a great help to me... Procurement, but where is your quartermaster, Lord Li Ang?"

Quartermaster?

He hadn't found a suitable person yet... Those Meitengheim fellows were clearly not cut out for it. Ansen and Sarah were educated, but neither of them was good at logistics.

Li Ang sighed, "It seems no one in the team besides me can handle logistics... And I have to depart for the border battle the day after tomorrow, so I don't have time to find someone suitable."

Lesley nodded sympathetically, "Logistics and quartermaster duties are tedious tasks... I truly didn't expect you to handle it personally."

But then, her eyes lit up, "Is your team planning to enter the Long River Forest? You know, I'm in the market for Noldo handicrafts..."

Li Ang shook his head, "Unfortunately, I'm going to suppress bandits, not seek out Noldo Elves... However, if I encounter any Noldo goods, I'll bring them to you. But for now, my headache is my team's logistical support."

Li Ang glanced at the shy boy standing silently beside Lesley, then turned his gaze back to her, "Your caravan's ability to travel from Mistveil City to Long River Town within a week is remarkable – I've never heard of any caravan or army capable of such speed. I wonder if I can learn anything from you?"

Lesley looked at Li Ang with a smile, "You are completely different from those high and mighty lords I've met... But you're leaving the day after tomorrow, so there's not enough time to learn anything, Lord Li Ang."

Li Ang knew himself that many things required experience, so he nodded and kicked at Kloze, who was still groggy from drinking, intending to leave.

But Lesley called out to him, "Lord Li Ang, if you're willing, I can temporarily help. For example, procuring supplies, preparing provisions, arranging food and daily necessities, vehicles and baggage, and handling spoils of war... Of course, I'll take a commission."

"That would be wonderful, Miss Lesley. I'll write down a list of my team members for you..."

Li Ang brought up the team list and began to copy it.

Seeing the solitary line for 'Meitengheim Great Swordsman', he decided to test his idea.

He then kicked Kloze awake, "Kloze, attention! I now appoint you Assault Captain! Go gather your men!"

Although Kloze was a bit dazed, he instinctively snapped to attention, "Yes, sir! My lord!"

Then, the list indeed changed...

Ansen, Doctor;

Sarah, External Affairs Officer;

Kloze, Assault Captain;

Mercenary Crossbowman, 22/23;

Farmers, 2/2;

Meitengheim Infantry, 1/12.

The number before the slash indicated the number of combat-ready personnel, while the number after indicated the total number of personnel – most of the tough guys had drunk themselves into a state of near-total defeat...

Li Ang remembered that when these tough guys first joined the team, they were called 'Meitengheim Adventurers', a polite term for new recruits. After retrieving their equipment from the pirate camp, they became 'Meitengheim Infantry'.

This meant that for soldiers to level up, it wasn't just about their skills and experience accumulation, but also about equipping them... These men were already skilled infantrymen; it was only during the time they were shirtless, lacking equipment, that the system counted them as recruits.

The amount of Dinar this would cost in the future would be astronomical.

The road ahead is long...

Honestly, handling the logistics for a few dozen people isn't too complicated, but it's certainly tedious.

Food supplies, equipment consumption, material transport, welfare distribution, spoils of war processing... all sorts of trivial matters.

Lesley will be staying in Long River Town for a while to purchase Noldo crafts. During this time, she'll act as the part-time Quartermaster and can help resolve these issues. If there are spoils of war, she can also help convert them into cash.

Moreover, she can provide vehicles for delivery. Even if Li Ang's team is stationed outside, as long as there's a need, she can have the caravan's workers deliver goods to their doorstep—as Lesley put it, 'They're idle anyway, might as well earn what they can.'

She's truly a qualified merchant.

Although she takes a commission on all her buying and selling, and home delivery requires extra payment, such services are clearly high-quality, especially when Li Ang is short on a Quartermaster.

However, Li Ang's gold coins were rapidly depleted by more than half—Lesley took 300 Dinar for her shopping.

The money he had left could only sustain them for about 20 days.

Fortunately, the next day, the bearded Ralph delivered the bows, crossbows, and building materials Li Ang requested without any discount. Even the twenty carpenters were all there.

But these carpenters were temporarily seconded. According to Ralph, they need to be returned after use.

It seems Ralph is indeed loyal to Count Oden.

Of course, it's also possible that he genuinely cares about his position in Long River Town. It's certainly not easy for a commoner to become the commander of the Long River Town garrison...

With all preparations complete, on the morning of the third day, Li Ang led his team out towards Fletcher Village, the kingdom's border.