Derek's Letter Home

The next day, Derek began construction.

The soldiers temporarily became construction workers. Fortunately, soldiers in this world were expected to handle odd jobs too, so no one objected.

Starting from scratch, they realized that none of their preparations had been enough.

They lacked everything. They had nothing.

Fortunately, Loyd brought people over to help, and they could barely keep things going.

First, they built several sturdy wooden houses, then drove a ring of wooden stakes around the perimeter to guard against any wild beasts that might be lurking nearby.

Loyd even had his men set up a few simple traps.

Then came the blacksmith shop, Derek's core resource.

This bend in the river was large enough. Later, there would be more than enough room to level out a Training Ground.

The only regret was that Warhorses would have a hard time running here.

Even with horseshoes fitted, they could still twist their legs on this terrain.

But where was there a perfect place? Besides, with the Panel, they could improve little by little.

Having gained an initial foothold, the next step was to bring in a steady stream of resources.

Watch City, and even other places, had fixed rules. Their ceilings were difficult to break through.

But this was untamed wilderness, where the rules were at their weakest.

There was still a ceiling here, but for Derek, it was high enough.

When the blacksmith's furnace began to burn, it meant that his ambitions were slowly catching fire as well.

After sharing a farewell drink, Loyd took the weapons he had bought on credit from Derek and set out on a new journey.

Their work during this period had not been for nothing. In their spare time, they received Derek's training, and the Bandits who had temporarily joined the Panel had all gained one or two levels in their professions.

Not to mention Derek's professional military tactics.

They had men, weapons, and morale.

Next, they would expand their ranks and grow stronger.

A Caravan from the Night Owl Merchant Guild traveled along a narrow mountain path. They were not a merchant association backed by local nobles, so they could only avoid the checkpoints.

Unless they had no choice, they would never pay those taxes.

That way, their profits remained decent.

They brought high-quality armor and weapons from the kingdom's central region, then took back Warhorses, Leather Armor, and even refined Iron Ore.

More than a hundred people struggled through the mountains. Most were old hands with some fighting ability.

They had traveled this road for many years and knew it like the backs of their hands. Even ordinary Bandits would take a detour when they encountered them.

At night, they set up camp.

Loyd led his men closer, followed by Bandits armed to the teeth.

Even Loyd was surprised by how nimble their movements were.

"Those nobles do have some skill. After a month of training, every one of them has improved greatly."

A month ago, how could these men have been so capable?

Because of this, Loyd no longer dared look down on the nobles beyond the mountains. It was impossible to imagine how powerful the hidden cards of nobles who knew how to train troops might be.

That was why he so readily accepted some of Derek's suggestions.

But today... they still had to make their name known first.

A flicker of firelight flashed in the distance. It was Wood, who had gone ahead, signaling that there were no sentries.

They were far too careless.

How little did these people think of Bandits? They did not have the slightest vigilance.

Then again, nothing had ever happened before. Who would care about a bunch of insignificant Bandits?

"Keep it down. Rush in, kill a few, then leave."

Before long, flames soared into the sky. Dozens of Bandits charged into the camp and began a slaughter.

By the time the Caravan reacted, a batch of goods had been burned, several people had been hacked to death, and many more were wounded.

After a night of terror, the Bandits released one of the Caravan members they had captured.

"Where did these Bandits come from? Did they have you deliver a message?"

The Caravan Steward suppressed his anger. These Bandits had gone too far.

"They called themselves Mountain Wolf. They said that from now on, anyone passing through this area should first send someone to buy a Mountain Wolf Banner. Nearby Bandits won't attack them then. Otherwise..."

There was no need to finish the sentence. Everything that had happened last night was the consequence.

Paying for safety was not a problem. It was not as though they had never done it before.

Otherwise, unless they gave up this trade route, attacks would come from time to time, and the losses would be too great.

The Caravan Steward gritted his teeth. If this had been his own territory, he would definitely make these Bandits understand the consequences.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

"How much?"

"It depends on the size. Two Silver Coins per cart."

The price was not high, at least much lower than the taxes collected at the checkpoints.

Otherwise, they would simply turn around and go through the checkpoints, and he would not get a single copper coin.

The Caravan Steward laughed in anger. He did not know where these Mountain Wolf Bandits had come from, but it looked like someone had been advising them.

"Fine. We'll buy them."

There were dedicated places to sell banners both coming and going. Loyd was not yet strong enough to monitor every mountain road, but if someone was willing to take the risk, they could choose not to buy one.

And while he attacked Caravans and established rules,

he also used force to absorb the small Bandit groups nearby, establishing his own order.

If anyone came to buy a banner, he would also take the opportunity to sell them some goods.

Want Furs?

Want weapons? Want Warhorses?

The goods were good and the prices fair. Someone would always buy.

He could even replenish some of his supplies and gradually grow stronger.

Of course, all of this took time. Order had to be built bit by bit.

And though he seemed impressive, there was still a ceiling over his head.

How many Caravans were there, after all?

But for Loyd, and even for Derek, it was enough for the time being.

After using up most of their supplies, Derek returned to Watch City with Simon.

The Blacksmith Shop was still steadily making him money, but only one blacksmith remained to run it. Though the profits were lower, it was less conspicuous.

It also refined Iron Ore on the side, saving the costs of transporting it back and forth.

After buying another batch of supplies, Derek hurried back.

Steward Vincent had just received the news. Before he even saw Derek, Derek had already vanished again.

However, there were no extra mountain goods on the market, which threw off his calculations.

After making several trips back and forth, they sold some weapons through passing Caravans without drawing attention.

These out-of-town Caravans all had local forces they worked with, so selling goods did not stand out.

Besides, compared to hauling weapons over long distances, buying some weapons locally actually cost less than transporting them.

Of course, Derek had given up part of the profits.

To him, that was not the most important thing. What mattered most was turning them into cash.

As a result, they were short on manpower again.

Even though they had bought more than a dozen prisoners from the Bandits here and there, they could only be used as basic laborers.

These untrained slaves needed time to prove their loyalty.

Faced with this problem, Derek simply picked up a pen.

After all, it was not as though he had no backing.

He could not expect major help, but he still had some connections.

"Dear Second Uncle, your nephew's business has been going smoothly lately, but I urgently need manpower.

I heard that Brother Adrian has completed his knight training, and I hope to invite him to come help me.

..."

Derek went on at great length, but it all came down to one thing: plenty of money, come quickly.

Moreover, Adrian's knight training had only been organized by the Ferrera Family itself. Its prestige was lacking, and its quality was relatively poor as well.

Within the family, he was not the Baron's first choice either.

Rather than muddling along in the family with no clear future, he might as well come out and make a name for himself with Derek.