Military Mobilization

However, the Moreland Family carried great prestige. Reiner's father and grandfather had both been trustworthy lords, and the knights and residents of the territory had great faith in the Moreland Family.

What was more, Reiner had five unwavering supporters in his hands: the Crimson Gryphon Knights. Their formidable combat power had already spread far and wide after the previous battle against the Red Dwarves.

Besides that, the Moreland Family had quite a few relatives. Reiner's father's younger brother—his own uncle and his family—were also Reiner's supporters. Thus, while Reiner did not yet have absolute control over the territory, no one dared defy his orders.

"Are you sure you want to do this? This year's snowfall has been far too heavy. There will definitely be far more Krad People coming to raid than in previous years, and that is not something we can withstand! We need to rely on Morland Castle. It is the guardian of our family!"

Sir Cord tried to persuade Reiner, but he understood their respective positions very clearly. Though he was Reiner's uncle, he was also his subject, so he was careful with his wording.

"I know, Uncle. But please believe me. Including the knights' retainers and infantry, our Moreland Family can mobilize more than two hundred men. I have a way to gather our army and strike scattered invading enemies at any time, while also detecting enemies entering the territory from every direction!"

Reiner spoke to Sir Cord. He had already thought of a solution: the legendary wolf smoke signals. Of course, Reiner did not know how such signals were made.

Still, he had imitated the idea and experimented several times, finally reaching the point where they could be spotted from within two kilometers.

In any case, the section of Morland Castle's border adjoining the Frigid Forest was only seven or eight kilometers long. Three or four wolf smoke signals would be enough to cover it.

Each signal only needed one or two soldiers to light it. For a border merely seven or eight kilometers long, this method was quite effective.

After Reiner explained it to Sir Cord, the latter still had some doubts, but he was no longer as worried as before.

As expected, the knights under Reiner's command did not dare defy their Baron in the slightest. They feared both Reiner's martial strength and the disgrace of being branded disloyal to their lord.

So, even though they did not think highly of this battle, and even though they might die in this war against the barbarians, they still chose to obey their Liege Lord's orders.

The heavy snow had stopped five days ago. Reiner had issued the assembly order as soon as it ended, and now all the knights under his command had gathered at Morland Castle with their soldiers and retainers.

More than two hundred soldiers had gathered here. Morland Castle was merely a Military Castle rather than a town, so aside from Reiner's family, only the Moreland Family's troops lived within it.

With so many extra people appearing at once, the castle did not become crowded, but it did seem far livelier. However, the soldiers and knights had brought their own provisions, so Reiner did not need to pay for them. This was an obligation they were required to fulfill for him.

Once the assembly was complete, Reiner held an impromptu feast for the knights. Afterward, he led the army out of the castle and headed for the northern border.

The northern border was only around ten kilometers from the castle. It would take roughly four hours to reach the border near the Frigid Forest.

Some prostitutes from Reiner's territory wanted to follow the army to the front. No one knew when the Krad People would invade, so the army might remain there for more than a month. If a month passed, the chances of a Krad invasion would become much lower.

"Will this really work?" Sir Cord was not the only one uneasy. The other knights under Reiner's command also had their doubts, but the Crimson Gryphon Knights had no such concerns.

Although they had been manifested and possessed independent personalities and emotions, their trust in Reiner was unconditional.

That very night, Reiner had the soldiers set up the four prepared wolf smoke signals along the territory's border. The moment the Krad People appeared, they were to light them as a warning, then swiftly maneuver and wipe out the enemy.

The Krad People who came to raid were usually from the same tribe. The barren Frigid Forest could not support a large tribe of more than ten thousand people; even tribes of more than five thousand were exceedingly rare. They each divided up their raiding grounds before heading south, keeping out of one another's affairs.

These people were generally nothing more than a rabble. Aside from their numbers, they had nothing that could compare to a regular army.

Therefore, as long as he did not face more than a thousand enemies at once, Reiner was quite confident of winning.

The reason they had to move their property every year was simply because they could not predict from which direction the enemy would enter. Even having the knights patrol everywhere on Warhorses was not particularly useful.

After all, neither men nor Warhorses were machines. They could not go without rest. And even if they discovered the enemy, many would still slip through the net.

Reiner planned to annihilate a large number of enemies in a single battle, then have the residents of every village remain vigilant and hunt down any Krad People who had escaped by luck.

After all, Reiner was currently organizing large-scale land reclamation. Several months' worth of human waste and manure from various livestock had not gone to waste; it was fermenting in a large pit.

This would be farmyard manure for next year's fields. Fermented manure was highly effective at enriching soil, and Reiner had even stored bone meal, whose effects he was not certain of, to scatter across the fields.

The Moreland Family's annual income was only enough to ensure they did not go hungry, with a small surplus left over. Once soldiers' wages, replacement armor, and the like were added in, the expenses became enormous. If not for the considerable income from the iron mines in the territory, the family would have been unable to sustain itself long ago.

Thus, Reiner's most urgent task was to solve the territory's food problem. If the annual grain harvest could not become self-sufficient with a substantial surplus, he would find it difficult to rest easy. This was a national trait bestowed upon him by his Chinese Yellow River bloodline, one that had not changed in the slightest even after entering another world and another body.

For that very reason, he could not allow the Krad People to run rampant through his territory. Aside from considerations of prestige, this was also a major reason.

Meanwhile, at Raynter Castle, which stood adjacent to Morland Castle, Baron Vedrim gazed into the distance from his bedroom.

The entire land was wrapped in silver. Only a sparse scattering of objects broke up the pure white world, until the Frigid Forest in the far north finally added some color. There, a disaster of unimaginable scale was brewing for the entire Northern Frontier.

All of Raynter Castle's residents—around two thousand people—had been moved into the castle, along with their food and every valuable possession. However, due to the poor mobilization effort, perhaps more than a hundred people were still stranded outside the castle.

Yet he did not know when the Krad People would cross the border to burn, kill, and plunder, so he did not dare act rashly.

"Tch! Foolish! I thought he would be as steady as his father, but it seems he is nothing more than a self-righteous idiot! Defeat the enemy? Hmph! Who does he think he is? The Holy Father's incarnation of battle?"