Volume One is over. There will only be two updates today while I organize the outline. In the next volume, the development phase will end, and a grand, turbulent era will begin.
Time slipped slowly by. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed since Rex returned to Gilneas. He had thought the Blackrock Clan could no longer contain itself and would soon revolt, but that had never happened.
Gilneas had changed greatly over those two years. The greatest change was its yearning for the outside world. In the past, anyone walking the streets of Gilneas City would never have heard people voluntarily discussing the world beyond its borders. Now, two years later, the outside world was the most popular topic on the streets, especially its wealth. Rex's wealth-based strategy had all but battered down Gilneas's isolationist policy.
Rex remembered a famous figure from his previous life who had said something like this: with adequate profit, capital grew bold. With a ten percent profit, it was certain to be employed everywhere; with twenty percent, it became eager; with fifty percent, it took reckless risks; for one hundred percent, it dared trample every human law; and with three hundred percent, it dared commit any crime, even at the risk of being hanged.
Those words were truly a timeless truth. Gilneas had not yet reached that point, but as time passed, opening the Greymane Wall would only be a matter of time.
Over those two years and more, every return voyage of the Caravan had brought enormous profits. The network of interests Rex had bound together through those profits had grown increasingly powerful. Still, he knew that going too far could be just as bad as not going far enough. After several western lords joined the Caravan, he simply ignored the eastern lords. Unable to obtain permission to pass through the Greymane Wall from Rex, they naturally had another avenue available: King Genn.
Rex was happy to see this. He had no favorable impression of those greedy eastern lords. Their hostile attitude when the Knights of the Round Table had first been founded had already earned them a place on his blacklist. Now he could use them to lead the charge, making them the vanguard in the push to open the Greymane Wall.
Over the past two years, Rex had brought considerable change to Gilneas. Everything had advanced step by step as he had expected. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Gilneas opened the Greymane Wall.
While Rex's spirits rose, King Genn's expression grew grim. The eastern lords had been pestering him relentlessly of late, and they too had obtained permission to pass through the Greymane Wall. Its gates, which once went years without opening, had changed. Now they had a set opening date: the first day of every month.
Faced with the outraged lords, even King Genn could no longer suppress their demands. This was not the old days. Back then, although he had faced considerable resistance, a large proportion of the lords had still supported him. Now, every time Rex's Caravan returned, it did so with tremendous fanfare, as though afraid someone might fail to realize how much money it had made. Every return was celebrated with a lavish expenditure of gold coins. All of this served one purpose: to show that trading with the outside world was profitable. Faced with such enormous returns, how could lords who relied on pitifully small tax revenues possibly resist?
King Genn gave ground. The gates of the Greymane Wall would open on the first of every month for just two days; anyone who missed that window would have to wait. Originally, it had been only one day, but the eastern lords had pestered him every day until he extended it. Passage was not free, however. Anyone wishing to go through the gates had to pay a fee, which eased King Genn's displeasure somewhat.
The greatest change over those two years had been in the Knights of the Round Table. Its ranks had expanded. Originally, it had consisted of only a thousand men divided among three guards. Now it had two thousand men in four guards. The Infantry Assault Guard and the Infantry Defense Guard were the largest, with six hundred men each.
The Musketeer Guard had gained two hundred men, bringing its strength to five hundred. Finally, Rex's Personal Guard had also gained another hundred men.
Standing in a training ground built outside Gilneas City, Rex watched the Knights of the Round Table train. As he watched its members sweat and swing their weapons, a brilliant smile spread across his face. Every one of them was third tier. That was precisely why he had moved the training grounds out of Gilneas City. There were too many people and prying eyes inside the city to keep anything secret, and he did not want to expose the strength of the Knights of the Round Table so soon.
After merging with Infantry Spirits, the new recruits of the Knights of the Round Table had trained for nearly a year before reaching the third tier, attaining the strength of elite soldiers. Although the Infantry Spirits themselves were only third tier, merging with a chosen host did not restrict that host's growth. Their strength would not become fixed at the third tier after rapidly reaching it. If they trained diligently afterward, they could still advance to a higher tier.
Taking a little over half a year to merge with an Infantry Spirit was the average Rex had calculated. Those with greater talent could complete the merger faster, while those with less talent took longer.
That was under normal training conditions. If they fought on a battlefield, constantly tempered by blood and fire, they could merge with their Infantry Spirits more quickly. But the gains would not outweigh the losses. Each Infantry Spirit cost ten gold coins. With steady training, its host would naturally grow into an elite soldier. Sending them onto a battlefield might be faster, but casualties would be inevitable. That would be a losing investment.
"Commander," a stern voice called out.
"Osborne, are you going to challenge Ulysses again?" Rex asked, looking at the warrior who stood there with a weapon in hand and a fierce air about him.
"Yes!" Osborne nodded.
Looking at the stern, taciturn Osborne, Rex waved him on his way. He was the captain of the Infantry Defense Guard and seemed inherently at odds with Ulysses, captain of the Infantry Assault Guard. Born a commoner, Osborne was a man of few words, and his strength was quite respectable. Still, there was a considerable gap between him and Ulysses, whom Vincent had always groomed as his ideal successor. Osborne was seventh tier, but Ulysses had already reached the peak of the seventh tier and was on the verge of breaking through to the eighth.
Naturally, Osborne lost challenge after challenge. Yet he displayed the tenacity of a cockroach, returning to fight after every defeat and relentlessly pestering Ulysses.
(End of chapter)
Before you continue