Selecting Personnel

After a simple welcome, Derek stated his purpose. "I need to recruit ten new soldiers, one attendant, and one blacksmith."

Andrew was somewhat surprised. The first two requirements were simple enough, but what did he need a blacksmith for?

He could not help reminding him, "Derek, the village blacksmith can at most repair farm tools and forge a few spearheads. The quality of even a simple iron sword cannot be guaranteed. If you need weapons repaired, there's no need to specifically recruit a blacksmith."

"Second Uncle, don't worry. I have other uses for him."

"That's no problem. There happens to be a group of Militia who have completed one round of training. They're all young, sturdy lads. I already asked around for you—there would be enough men even if you recruited twenty.

"As for the blacksmith, the old blacksmith's son is about your age. He should have picked up some of the craft."

Andrew had indeed put thought into it. He had even made preparations in advance.

"I also need to buy a house. It would be best if I could borrow the Training Ground."

"Why buy a house? The Training Ground on the outskirts of the farmlands, under the Security Office, has everything you need. Stay there, and you'll save me some trouble too."

Andrew waved a hand. What was such a small matter? It was all his father's property anyway.

After thinking it over, Derek decided that saving whatever he could was still saving. There was no way he could completely cut ties with the family, so he might as well take more benefits.

With a local power helping him, Derek's great preparations went extremely smoothly. Everything was arranged within a single day.

Andrew covered the bedding, beds, and daily necessities.

He even had people move over several sacks of wheat, saving Derek the cost of food as well.

The other relatives did not sit idle either, sending people over with all sorts of gifts.

They were all highly practical. Third Uncle sent thirty spearheads.

Fourth Uncle sent three sets of simple Leather Armor.

Aunt had someone deliver five Iron Swords.

In the blink of an eye, Derek had not spent a single coin, yet he had already scraped together his equipment.

Then he looked at the twelve sturdy young men and nearly burst into song with joy.

"Back then, when my army was just getting started, there was only that... one unit of weapons. Forget it, that's too much of a humblebrag."

This was the joy of being a noble. How could knights from ordinary backgrounds understand it?

The gifts from these relatives ranged in value from one or two Gold Coins to three or five Gold Coins. He was the only one who had chosen to venture out; otherwise, they surely would have given a little less.

With the basic foundation in place, the first thing Derek did with the new recruits was build a blacksmith's furnace.

That was right, a blacksmith's furnace.

The blacksmith's son, Little Tru, officially joined and was assigned under the army tab of the Panel.

Tru

Class: Army Blacksmith Level 1 (22/100)

Experience Pool: 0/100

Sure enough, the Panel's range of coverage was even greater than he had imagined.

This newly discovered function gave Derek more options.

Compared to risking his life on the blade's edge, the Arms Business was more profitable.

Weapons and equipment with high added value in particular brought huge profits.

A full suit of heavy armor cost sixty or seventy Gold Coins. How long would an ordinary person need to earn that much?

The other eleven recruits began training, while Little Tru the blacksmith embarked on his forging journey.

In truth, being a blacksmith was enough to support an entire family.

Why had Little Tru appeared in the military camp? Naturally, because he had "volunteered."

The young master of the Baron's household had taken a liking to you. You would not volunteer? Believe it or not, your entire family would be found stabbed in the back tomorrow, having committed suicide.

Little Tru had already prepared himself to change careers and become a soldier. But after arriving at the Training Ground, he first built a crude furnace and set up a workbench.

Then, after a hammer was placed in his hand, Lord Derek said to him very gently, "Little Tru, your family has been blacksmiths for generations. Don't be polite if you need anything. Go home and get it. I'll pay for it."

"I... I... I only know how to forge farm tools and repair damaged weapons." Little Tru was nearly crying. Surely the lord did not think he could forge weapons and armor? If he produced defective goods, would he not be killed?

"I know. Start by forging spearheads. I'll use them for training. I won't hold quality issues against you."

Lord Derek was unusually easy to talk to, but Little Tru remained doubtful.

The credibility of noble lords... well, the Ferrera Family still honored its word.

That very day, after Little Tru returned home and explained the situation, Old Tru packed up his equipment and sent it over.

If Derek had not refused, he would have dearly loved to take Little Tru's punishment in his place.

That was right, punishment.

If even he himself could not do it, expecting Little Tru to manage it was obviously just making trouble for the boy, was it not?

Derek offered no further explanation. He simply put on the airs of a Baron's son, and the Tru family obediently fell in line.

Before Old Tru left, his eyes brimmed with tears. "Boy, you have to hold on. You're my only son. I'm still counting on you to support me in my old age."

Little Tru's eyes were also brimming with tears, and he felt his future was uncertain.

The moment he turned around and got home, Old Tru shut the door.

"Wife, let's hurry up and have another child."

It was said that Old Tru closed his shop for the next several days.

Little Tru lit the furnace and smelted iron, beginning his life as a blacksmith.

The next day, the recruits trained.

"Thrust!"

"Withdraw!"

"Thrust!"

Crack!!!

The spearhead broke.

The spearhead forged by Little Tru was severely substandard.

Derek remained expressionless and continued commanding, "What are you looking at? Does a broken spearhead mean you can slack off? The enemy on the battlefield will not wait for you. Continue... thrust."

Training continued!

During the training days, Andrew came by from time to time. Seeing that Derek was proceeding properly and by the book, he could find no fault with him.

As for the results, they would not show anytime soon.

Little Tru's situation, on the other hand, drew quite a few criticisms from him. He tried to persuade Derek several times, but when it did not work, he could only let it go.

After all, he could just let his third nephew crash and burn and learn a lesson. He would not lose much money anyway.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

When he opened the Panel again, due to the greater intensity of training and Derek's stricter demands, all eleven recruits had reached Militia Level 5 or above.

Little Tru's progress was somewhat slower, and he had only reached Level 3.

After Level 3, the rate at which he gained experience slowed once more.

At the current pace, it would take at least another month for him to level up again.

Tru

Class: Army Blacksmith Level 3 (11/100)

Experience Pool: 0/100

After all, forging weapons and equipment had a daily limit, making it far inferior to training.

Moreover, the later it went, the harder it became to gain experience.

After reaching Level 3, the spearheads Little Tru forged were already usable. Their cost was only around twenty or thirty Copper Coins, yet they could easily sell for seventy or eighty Copper Coins.

Little Tru could forge three to five spearheads a day, bringing his daily profit to around two hundred Copper Coins.

At the official exchange rate, one Gold Coin was worth ten Silver Coins, while one Silver Coin was worth one hundred Copper Coins.

But the so-called official rate was useless. The market exchange rate constantly fluctuated.

One Gold Coin could roughly be exchanged for fifteen to seventeen Silver Coins, while one Silver Coin could be exchanged for one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty Copper Coins.

In other words, a qualified blacksmith could earn more than one and a half Silver Coins a day.

In a year, he could earn two to three Gold Coins, three times the income of an ordinary soldier.

With even greater skill, he could earn more.

However, Little Tru had signed a contract of indenture. There was no escaping.