Gathering Troops, Winning Hearts

Ergons suddenly heard a notification. Looking at the panel again, he saw that his sphere of influence had gained a territory: Tervain Village.

A description of Tervain Village appeared as well: Tervain Village looked prosperous and impressive. Its fields and orchards brimmed with vitality, while sacks of wheat and dried meat scattered everywhere were the best proof of the village's agricultural and pastoral productivity.

The still-new-looking irrigation channels showed that the village's farmers had enough energy and time beyond farming to take on other work.

Day laborers gathered here to help with the work, making the village increasingly prosperous. You remembered that this village and the surrounding lands belonged to the Tervalin lord of the Duchy.

The local residents warmly welcomed your return. (86)

Recruit volunteers.

Go to the village center.

Buy supplies from the villagers.

Do something hostile.

Leave...

Only upon truly seeing this interface did Ergons understand that he could act freely only if the villagers recognized him enough.

By rights, there should not have been any able-bodied men left in the village to spare. Although the busy autumn season had ended, there was still plenty of work to be done.

Still, he tested the option to recruit volunteers. The page turned, and three three-dimensional figures of young men appeared before him, each carrying a pack and wearing a short axe or dagger at his waist.

They were clearly three of the village youths who had been opening the gate, and the page displayed:

Three Swadian recruit volunteers wish to follow you.

Recruit them. (30 Denar)

Forget it.

There were two options. He chose to recruit them without hesitation. With the clinking sound of coins, a notification floated up: You lost 30 Denar.

Of the three youths who had opened the gate, one had brown hair, one flaxen hair, and one golden hair. Their overly fair skin showed that they were not locals; they were likely born to fathers from the village and refugee women from elsewhere.

As they watched the armored riders entering the manor, they could not suppress the envy in their eyes.

Especially when one of the riders lifted the visor from his cheeks. They knew that face all too well!

"Isn't that the village idiot from our village?"

"He gets to wear such fancy armor and ride a big horse? Why can't I?"

"I remember he wasn't even stronger than me. During harvest, he couldn't work as fast as I could!"

A subtle change arose in the three young men's hearts. Overwhelming jealousy and longing drove them to rush before the horses. "My lord, we want to join your troop too!"

"Fine. Follow me."

The moment he finished speaking, the three men's attire changed.

A swirl of golden light wrapped around them. When it faded, the recruit equipment he had just bought for thirty Denar had appeared on them.

Each had a shield, padded armor and leather bracers on their upper bodies, a full leather apron protecting their fronts and thighs, leg wraps, and leather shoes.

Their Attributes changed as well.

Tervalin recruit

Level: 4

Health: 42

Experience: 2891

Experience Required for Level Up: 3426

Strength: 7

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 6

Charisma: 6

Riding: 1

Item Management: 2

Prisoner Management: 1

Leadership: 1

Trade: 2

Weapon Proficiency: 60 in all categories.

Were these even soldiers? To put it plainly, these recruits were support troops. Their main abilities were actually Item Management, Prisoner Management, Leadership, and Trade.

The whole village erupted. They had merely heard Old Adam say that the young lord had not died and had become a Divine Favor. They had not completely believed it.

But Old Adam had sworn upon the Holy Light that if he lied, he would die a terrible death. That gave his words enough credibility.

Now they had personally witnessed three young men undergo such miraculous changes simply by pledging themselves to the young lord.

Everyone was stunned!

At once, more people wanted to join. It could be said that nearly every one of the dozen or so remaining men in the village wanted to become a retainer of the Divine Favor.

This was a miracle. Receiving the protection of a Divine Favor was the sort of tale written into myth.

Ergons glanced at the troop limit in the backend. It was 40.

The current troop limit modifiers were:

Base troops: +30

Player Leadership: +0

Player Charisma: +6

Player Renown: +4

Total: 40

Including Adam's six light infantry, Sergeant/Knight William Adena, and the three militia, there were only ten people in the troop.

Old Adam had been left at the village manor. Elisa Adena's role... was somewhat like Caitlin among game NPCs.

That forty- or fifty-year-old "quartermaster," Aunt Kai, had once followed the Swadian troops around as a "quartermaster." In her younger days, she might have been a higher-ranking camp prostitute, but at least she had held the title of "quartermaster."

So he still had room for thirty more people. Even if he ran out of space, he could leave people at the manor, and they would not count toward the number he personally led.

Why not recruit them if he had room?

With the clinking sound of coins, a notification floated up: You lost 130 Denar.

Thirteen recruits were born amid golden light. With sixteen recruits in total, plus the original five light infantry, nearly every household in the village now had a man serving under him.

The recognition rating, which had originally been only 86 on the village interface, instantly maxed out at 100.

Seeing this, Ergons felt that he should make the atmosphere even more fervent. He spread his arms, calming the excited crowd.

"You chose to follow me, so you deserve a reward. I will grant you greater strength and faster speed."

Pressing CTRL+X, he used the Level 2 Permit in the troop interface to give experience to the sixteen recruits.

This was not leveling up an individual's experience through someone's personal interface.

He had upgraded William Adena that way because William could no longer advance. Sergeant was his limit, and only by breaking through his personal Attributes could he gain further possibilities.

But leveling up through the troop interface upgraded everyone of that troop type. It raised them all together.

After 160 Denar vanished, golden light enveloped them all. They became Tervalin Militia, carrying simple fan-shaped shields and hunting crossbows, wearing thick striped padded armor beneath leather aprons, with fighting hoes at their waists and linen headwraps around their heads.

Their Attributes underwent tremendous changes as well.

Tervalin Militia

Level: 9

Health: 44

Experience: 12678

Experience Required for Level Up: 13010

Strength: 9

Agility: 8

Intelligence: 6

Charisma: 6

Athletics: 1

Riding: 1

Pathfinding: 1

Item Management: 2

Prisoner Management: 1

Leadership: 1

Trade: 3

Weapon Proficiency: 75 in all categories.

Once the sixteen militia fully recovered from the experience of leveling up, they were no different from the Adenauer Siblings when they had first submitted to him.

They truly regarded young lord Ergons as a living god. In the troop morale categories, the Recent Events section was pinned at 100, and overall morale was locked at excellent.

In that cheerful atmosphere, Ergons seemed to lose his head a little. He used the Level 2 Permit again and pressed CTRL+X, but this time, although the cost was twenty Denar per person, only sixty Denar was deducted.

A single Level 2 Permit could only upgrade three people.

He regretted that decision immediately.

There were plenty of ways to level them up through combat and daily training. How had he been so careless?

Golden light rose again around the three young men from the village gate. They became light infantry.

They reached Level 14, with 49 Health, 30096 Experience, and 34362 Experience Required for Level Up.

Their Strength rose to ten, Agility to eight, Intelligence to seven, and Charisma to nine.

Their Skills also underwent a complete transformation.

Iron Bones Level 2, Power Strike Level 2, Shield Defense Level 2, Athletics Level 3. One-Handed Weapon Proficiency reached 105, Two-Handed Weapons 85, and Polearms 95. Everything else remained at militia level.

In terms of combat strength, these three were no different from the other five light infantry wearing cavalry armor.

Ergons simply continued winning people over and did them a favor. "I can see how much you three envy them, so I'll give you the chance!"

As he spoke, three sets of armor and three warhorses appeared before them, while the weapons and equipment on their bodies vanished.

From then on, the equipment Ergons had previously obtained at Tevalinburg would no longer be enough to make complete sets.

If strengthening their bodies had still been within these people's ability to accept, then conjuring three living horses out of thin air was another matter entirely.

Forgive these simple men and women for their narrow experience. They had truly never seen such an ability to create life!

Those who still harbored a trace of doubt completely offered up their faith. Every person in the village became his wholehearted supporter.

But the system suddenly gave a notification, interrupting Ergons's mood and even frightening him into a cold sweat!