First Order

Coelho was just unlucky to get involved, but he wasn't the only one being targeted.

All the noble lords who lacked strength but participated in leading troops to forcibly plunder their people were put on a list.

Almost simultaneously, these people received gifts of gratitude from Northern Aristocrats. They were faced with only two choices: accept the friendship and hand over the person, or fight it out.

In fact, there is only one way.

Whether it was an intelligence blunder or deliberate provocation, the number of people proposed by the Northern Aristocrats far exceeded their actual gains, and in some cases even surpassed the total population of their territories.

Hudson was lucky; he didn't receive any friendly greetings from his neighbors. Clearly, the title of "Divine Bow Knight" still had its merits.

"Sir Coelho, are you sure you didn't lead troops to participate in the raid? And the Lord of Maple Leaf Town is demanding you hand over a thousand men?"

It's not that Hudson is making a fuss; there are already enough nobles leading troops to seize people. If they expand further, wouldn't they offend all the local nobles in the two counties?

The nobles who were able to obtain fiefdoms in the two counties after the war were either those who won the war on the battlefield or those whose families were powerful enough in terms of overall strength.

Coelho, who inherited the family business, is indeed an easy target. But to come knocking on someone's door after they've just suffered a major disaster, isn't he afraid of being bombarded with insults?

Although it's absurd to talk about pity for the weak in aristocratic circles, everyone still has to put on a show in public.

In particular, those connections left over from these families are most willing to lend a helping hand at this time in order to gain a good reputation.

If it weren't for his reputation, Hudson would most likely have been "not home" even if a distant relative he'd never contacted before came to him for help.

"Your Excellency Baron Hudson, I swear by the honor of the Reikes Family that I have never led troops to plunder any of my people. In fact, I haven't even left my house in the last month."

You must have heard about our family's situation; our elite forces were all wiped out in the rebellion. If I hadn't happened to be visiting my uncle, I probably wouldn't have escaped the same fate.

In the aftermath of the war, I've incurred enormous debts in order to reclaim my territory. I haven't even had time to build a private family army, so how can I possibly lead troops out to plunder?

If you insist on a connection to Maple Leaf Territory, it's because a group of refugees wandered into my territory a few days ago. Seeing how pitiful they were, I took them in.

After hearing Coelho's explanation, Hudson could only think, "Holy crap! What refugees who wandered in? They're clearly his people!"

It's just that some bastard among his men lost them on the way, and the refugees accidentally wandered into the territory of their good neighbor Coelho.

When good fortune falls from the sky, it's not always a good thing. Someone like Coelho, lacking in ability, was completely caught off guard by this windfall.

Since the lord of Maple Leaf Town didn't have the confidence to ask Hudson for the man, he could only let Coelho, the easy target, make up for the loss.

Perhaps there was more than one unlucky one, after all, getting lost is all too common for refugees.

Even when following the main group, people often fall behind. It's especially easy to get lost when foraging for wild vegetables or tree bark along the way.

The thought of his people, who should have been his, falling into the hands of others filled Hudson with bitterness. He couldn't bring himself to offer any words of comfort.

"Sir Coelho, if what you say is true, I am willing to act as a mediator between you and help clear up this misunderstanding."

However, the affiliation of these people is something you need to discuss yourselves. Those guys in the Northern Frontier are used to being arrogant, and they might not listen to me.

My personal suggestion is that you focus on strengthening your forces first. Even low-quality serf soldiers are better than none!

I'd be willing to do someone a favor, but helping them fight is out of the question; our relationship isn't at that level yet.

The exact combat strength of the Northern Frontier troops is unknown, but they have come from the Beastfolk battlefield, so if a real battle breaks out, the losses will certainly not be small.

The knight Coelho in front of him looked like a penniless wretch, probably unable to even afford the cost of his funeral. Hudson wasn't about to make a losing deal.

However, as a qualified arms dealer, Hudson would not give up any potential customer.

The aristocracy operates on relationships; developing one client is equivalent to developing a client base.

If a product is good, people won't hesitate to recommend it to friends and family. This kind of effortless favor has always been a favorite among the nobility.

"Sir Hudson, thank you for your help. The Reikes Family will never forget your kindness!"

Although he was only acting as a mediator, Coelho was deeply grateful. Given the relationship between the two parties, it was already quite an achievement to have gone this far.

If they were to send troops to help him fight a battle, the Reikes Family, with only one son, would not be able to repay such a debt of gratitude.

There is no love or hate without a reason. If a big shot has too many debts of gratitude, he can only pay them with his life.

Despite being from the lower ranks of the kingdom's nobility, Hudson was still considered a big shot in front of the Reikes Family.

As the host, Hudson enthusiastically showed Coelho around his armory.

Although they were all ordinary iron weapons, their sheer number greatly shocked the young knight before him.

Ultimately, with Hudson agreeing to installment payments and in-kind settlement, two hundred "spearheads" were successfully sold.

That's right, it was merely the piercing tip of a spear. On one hand, Hudson didn't have enough raw materials to make the spear shaft, and on the other hand, the customer was simply too poor.

Even for a small order of just two hundred gold coins, they insisted on installment payments and in-kind compensation, leaving Hudson speechless.

Even the smallest orders had to be made; they were all short spearheads, less than a foot long, requiring very little iron.

The cost is at most one or two Silver Coin, but Hudson dares to charge ten Silver Coin for the finished product. Customers like Coelho, who pay in installments, naturally have to pay extra.

One gold coin each, a truly friendly price. Given the tense situation between the two counties, being able to get weapons and equipment on credit is a huge favor.

None of the arms dealers on the market dared to extend credit to the feudal lords. Even the moneylenders who dared to lend money to the King at exorbitant interest rates would avoid the feudal lords.

There's no other reason than the excessively high bad debt rate. It's not a question of whether they want to repay or not; the noble lords who have reached this point simply lack the ability to repay.

If you don't have money, you don't have money. What can you do to a great nobleman because of money?

The lords of the North are the most qualified to speak on this matter.

If you're lucky, you might receive Beastfolk slaves as payment; if you're unlucky, the debtor might disappear at any time.

The probability of the heir fulfilling the contract is virtually zero, and litigation is useless; almost no noble family has enacted laws that legalize usury.

What binds people to repay their debts is trust, not arbitrary territorial laws.

Of course, this has little to do with Hudson. With such a small debt and the debtor being a neighbor, the risk is extremely limited.