Troops March on Goer Castle

With an immense sense of anticipation for the future, Reiner gradually drifted off to sleep. He didn't wake until the afternoon of the next day, when the sunlight streamed at just the right angle into his now much more spacious room.

Broken, dappled sunlight fell on his eyelids. Even with his eyes tightly shut, he couldn't block out the strong light. Today was a rare good day; there hadn't been many days with such bright sun all winter.

Reiner reluctantly opened his eyes. He had slept in late because he had gone to bed so late the night before.

Sophie and Lisa, Reiner's personal maids, had been waiting since morning. The warm water in their wooden basin had been changed at least five times. After waiting since the morning, even boiling water would have turned cold by now.

"Ugh..." Reiner grumbled in annoyance. Seeing this, the two maids immediately rose from their chairs and approached Reiner with warm towels and water. One placed a warm towel on Reiner's face, while the other stood by with the basin.

"Tch!" His breathing grew heavier, and he was in an extremely foul mood. He had brought his bad temper upon waking from his previous life into this body. At first, the two young maids were a little scared, but over time, they got used to it. Reiner never took his anger out on anyone.

Although he had become a Baron, the compulsory education of the new century had taught him to treat everyone equally. While becoming a noble had made his ego swell a tiny bit, he still couldn't bring himself to casually punish or whip others.

After being waited on by the two maids, Reiner felt much more refreshed. Although the lack of a toothbrush made him very uncomfortable, he had to endure it since the conditions weren't available.

With the help of the maids, he put on loose everyday clothes. Originally, trousers in this world were tight-fitting breeches, but Reiner's strong insistence had prompted the tailor to make them in the style he wanted.

These clothes were typically made of linen, but because they were for the Baron, the threads were woven more finely. Still, they were linen clothes at their core. More precious materials were quite expensive.

Not to mention silk, which was extremely expensive and treasured even by great nobles, arriving via sea trade routes. Even cheaper velvet was incredibly costly. If a single garment were made from it, it would likely require the entire annual tax revenue of Morland Castle to produce one.

This was also why Reiner could tolerate the rough linen rubbing against his skin. At first, he thought that becoming a noble would mean a much more comfortable life, but now he finally understood the limitations of the era and how the economic base determines the superstructure.

Even a Baron of this era, let alone a Baron, but even an Earl, would find it difficult to compare their quality of life to that of an ordinary commoner in the 21st century.

Reiner left his room, heading to the castle's dining hall for a meal. Along the way, he noticed that while the basic structure of the castle hadn't changed, it felt much more spacious.

It was also more suitable for defense. It was hard to tell from inside the main castle, but many other structures had been added to the outer walls.

"Oh, good afternoon, Uncle. What are you off to do?" Reiner asked Sir Cord, rubbing his fluffy golden hair.

"I'm going to your pharmacy to gather a few physicians. They are among the few people in the entire territory who know some medical skills. According to your orders, their help is essential if we are to treat the wounded soldiers!" Sir Cord replied.

"Ah!" Reiner nodded, then said, "Tell them to do as I instructed them before! No strange methods!" When they had rescued Count Rademacher during the bandit suppression operation, there were many wounded soldiers. When Reiner ordered the physicians to treat them, he felt something was off with their methods.

He then realized that this era was similar to the dark Middle Ages of his previous life. Not using bloodletting on the wounded soldiers was already being very considerate.

Reiner immediately stopped them, teaching them some of the most basic medical knowledge from the 21st century. Even so, two soldiers who participated in the bandit suppression still died from tetanus.

"Oh, right, has our castle changed recently?" Reiner asked, looking into Sir Cord's eyes.

The castle had undergone significant changes after its upgrade. He wasn't sure if the memories of these people had truly been tampered with, which prompted his question.

"Uh... do you mean the castle is much cleaner? Yes, the servants conducted a major clean-up of the castle, and it's become much cleaner!"

Although Sir Cord's answer didn't directly address his question, Reiner was relieved. Their memories had indeed been tampered with, otherwise, they wouldn't have failed to notice such significant changes to the castle.

Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye. Reiner, clad in full chainmail, sat atop his warhorse, observing the assembled soldiers.

At this point, the Moreland Family could only field fewer than sixty soldiers. Many had died on the battlefield, and many more were wounded. Even if they recovered smoothly, the Moreland Family's regular army would only number between fifty and sixty men.

Reiner had also disbanded the conscripted serfs, sending them home. After all, Baron Lobean had essentially brought out all of Goer Castle's forces to besiege Morland Castle. Aside from those killed, most had become prisoners of the Moreland Family.

Therefore, Goer Castle was basically unarmed now. A few dozen soldiers and a dozen knights were sufficient to deal with such a territory.

For the serfs and free people, it made no difference who ruled them; it was merely a change in who collected taxes and exploited them.

Reiner led his army, slowly advancing towards Goer Castle under the Moreland Family banner. Reiner estimated that this expedition would meet little resistance. At most, a few members of Baron Lobean's Gwen Family might resist, but they had no army. He didn't believe these people could offer any resistance against his troops.

Today was another clear and sunny day. The plain, enveloped in snow, was a pristine silver. Occasionally, snowflakes were blown from the trees by the wind, like mischievous sprites, rustling as they fell to the ground.

The entire army was in high spirits. They knew this was a guaranteed victory. What if Goer Castle had some defenders? Baron Lobean was dead, and the castle's guards wouldn't be more numerous than the forces that defended Morland Castle. Taking Goer Castle would be effortless.

The distance between the two territories was not far. In just over four hours, they reached the Goer Castle territory. Along the roadside, they occasionally saw thinly clad serfs searching for food.

Due to excessive taxes, the food they had left was simply not enough to sustain them through the entire winter and until the next harvest. Thus, they were forced to brave the cold wind, searching for food to fill their stomachs in the wild.

Upon seeing the passing army, they involuntarily scurried away, clutching their heads in fear of attracting the army's attention and being killed. One should not expect any discipline or integrity from armies of this era; many armies were merely legal bandits kept by lords.