Horse-herding Village

[The largest town you needed to pass through on your journey was Tulga, where you could replenish many of the supplies needed for the migration.]

[You were now in Tulga's castle, standing before Lord Asugan, who had extended an olive branch to you.]

[For just a quarter of your wealth, he would grant you a pasture and the title of Nayan.]

[In the Khergit Kingdom, where plunder and extortion were commonplace, this price was remarkably fair.]

[Even considering Asugan's reputation for integrity, these terms made it clear that he held you in very high regard.]

[But you politely declined. Asugan did not make things difficult for you. Instead, he told you that there was indeed a pasture to the east, outside the Khergit Kingdom's current borders.]

[Its water and grazing were far from abundant-it could even be called barren-and many traditional nomadic peoples lived there.]

[Fierce and ruthless by nature, they had refused to obey the Khergit Kingdom's current laws and had been driven there by the nobles.]

[Asugan told you that settling there would not be easy. There were no rules there, only the ruthless survival of the strongest.]

[You thanked Asugan. As you left, he told you that his door would always be open to you, but the price would remain the same.]

[Asugan seemed certain that you would return.]

[In Tulga, you spent most of the money you had on supplies for the migration.]

[When some of the supplies were distributed, you saw expressions of disbelief on most of the herders' faces.]

[The entire company rested in Dasbeifa for a week. Before leaving, you made a special trip to see Tuluge and told him to keep the remaining days on your tab-you might return at any time.]

[Tuluge drove you out of his tent with, "Fine, fine, fine, now get the fuck out!" You smiled and left.]

[Your company soon entered the territory of Disita Castle. The local Nayan had clearly heard of your reputation. He charged you a token fee and told you that you had to leave his territory within a week.]

[Your company continued through Disita Castle's territory, finally reaching your planned destination one morning a week later.]

[The water and grazing here were not abundant, but there was a river essential to the herders. You ordered your men to make camp.]

[The locals, however, certainly lived up to their reputation for ferocity and ruthlessness.]

[That very night, the locals near your camp sent you a grand welcoming gift.]

[In the early hours, over a hundred riders charged toward your camp carrying torches.]

[Under your command, the riders on night watch intercepted them, but could not stop them all. In the confusion, you also suffered a minor injury.]

[The fire destroyed most of your supplies. A third of your horses fled into the flames and vanished. Over a hundred herders were burned or trampled to death, and countless others were injured.]

[Your losses were severe, but you did not come away empty-handed. They had not expected you to fight so well or react so quickly.]

[As a result, the counterattack you organized netted several prisoners.]

[At first, these prisoners were extremely defiant. Not only did they refuse to speak, they hurled abuse at you and demanded a quick death.]

[You were "forced" to employ some methods of torture you knew. At last, one of them broke and told you the truth.]

[The raid had been jointly organized by four nomadic tribes living nearby.]

[They had discovered you and your herders as soon as you arrived. After years of fighting, the four chiefs had divided up every stretch of this pasture. Your arrival made you their common enemy.]

[They had held a meeting yesterday afternoon, agreed on a plan by evening, and dispatched their forces that night, reaching your camp in the early hours.]

[Each had sent his tribe's strongest warriors to form a hundred-man force, intending to overrun your camp in the raid and divide your wealth among themselves.]

[But they had not anticipated the strength of you and your men. After losing a portion of their warriors, they each withdrew to preserve their own strength.]

[After obtaining this information, you hastily bandaged your wound, gathered your soldiers that same night, and rode out to attack the enemy encampments.]

[Only the cries of **"We swear to avenge this, or we are not men!"** lingered beneath the smoke-filled sky, carrying farther and farther.]

[That night, you led over four hundred cavalrymen in a surprise attack, overrunning the so-called "royal tents" of two nomadic tribes and beginning a massacre.]

[Your orders were to spare those who surrendered. Even so, at least a third of their people died beneath your weapons.]

[You then led your herders to occupy the pastures and water sources belonging to those two tribes.]

[The matter did not end there. After making basic arrangements for the prisoners and your own herders, you set out again with your cavalry.]

[With three horses per man, you followed the tracks in pursuit of the two fleeing tribes.]

[The pursuit lasted three days and three nights. At last, every surviving member of the two tribes surrendered. You personally cut off their chiefs' heads.]

[You took the trouble to bury the dead enemies one by one around the borders of your territory. The burial mounds stretched for over a kilometer. They would remain here forever, a story warning the other tribes on this grassland.]

[After this battle, your herders regarded you with both respect and fear, and most of the tribal chiefs on the grassland sent you gifts.]

[Your followers suffered heavy casualties in the fighting. Only a little over four hundred households remained, with barely three hundred people still able to fight on horseback.]

[But there were gains as well: nearly a thousand prisoners, over a thousand warhorses, and countless cattle and sheep.]

[Over the long period that followed, you led your herders in establishing a new village here. You named it Horse-herding Village.]

[This simulation has ended. Progress saved.]

[Your identity as lord of Horse-herding Village has been retained. By relinquishing this identity, you may permanently summon all the herders of Horse-herding Village, including over four hundred cavalrymen, over nine hundred villagers, nearly a thousand prisoners, more than two thousand warhorses, over three hundred cattle, and over four thousand sheep. Through months of hard work and several brutal battles, you proved your strength to these "assets." They would not mind following you on another migration.]

[Rewards obtained: 1 honor, 50 renown, 5,000 Denars.]

[Continue the simulation? Yes/No]

[No]

Upon returning to reality from the simulation, Allen immediately decided to relinquish his identity as leader of Horse-herding Village.

It was true that continuing to use this identity for simulations might yield greater rewards.

But Allen, who had spent years buying investment funds in his previous life, understood one principle: hold on to what you had, rather than yearn too much for the unknown.

If he died in the next simulation, Allen would lose everything he had invested. After all, this was his biggest haul in years.

Of course, there was a problem: to summon these herders, he first had to find them a new pasture.

The Anduin River valley had no shortage of land. The problem was that Allen knew only a little about management and absolutely nothing about raising horses.

Although Allen knew nothing about it, his subordinate Firentis, a former cavalry officer, ought to know how to raise horses. Allen soon thought of that.

Early the next morning, Allen sought out Firentis before he had a chance to leave and discussed the problem with his deputy.

Firentis told Allen that he did indeed know a few things about raising horses, and that he had been considering this issue for quite some time.

For that reason, he had deliberately studied the surrounding terrain while on patrol.

There were indeed many places in this river valley suitable for raising horses.

North of Wilderness Village, for example, lay vast grasslands covered in excellent livestock fodder, with several small rivers branching off the Anduin River. It met practically every requirement for raising horses.

A small herd of wild horses already lived there. Firentis had always wanted to tame them, but the lack of people with the necessary skills had forced him to put it off.

Now that Allen had brought it up, Firentis said they could claim the area if needed. Raising a few thousand horses would be child's play. As for how many they could raise, the more, the better.

Still, Firentis was puzzled. The entire town had fewer than two hundred horses combined, so why did Allen need to find a horse pasture?

Allen gave a mysterious smile without elaborating and instead asked Firentis to take him there for a look.

Since Firentis said it was quite far away, Allen took Alayen and his personal guards, made a few preparations, and rode out of Wilderness Town.

The place Firentis had mentioned was indeed far away. It was already quite close to the Elves-path, which also meant it was closer to the Half-orcs' stronghold, Mount Gundabad.

That made the area somewhat dangerous. Half-orc Warg Riders were certain to harass it.

But the surroundings were truly excellent. The plain was dozens of kilometers wide, its yellowing grass stretching to the horizon.

Mirkwood lay to the east, the Anduin River to the west, and several rivers wound through the land between them.

Although Allen knew little about such matters, as he galloped across the grass on his Elves Horse, he could almost picture the wind bending the grass to reveal cattle and sheep.

He made up his mind. Even if it meant taking some risks, he would build a settlement here that combined nomadic life with a permanent community.

Allen was indeed running short on time. He did not know when Gandalf would come.

He needed to complete a great deal of preparation before then, especially regarding these steppe cavalrymen. Having several hundred cavalrymen during the Battle of Five Armies would be wonderful.

[Relinquish your identity as lord of Horse-herding Village?]

[Yes.]

[Cooldown for this use: 2,152 days.]

As the simulator's notifications ended, great swathes of white light appeared before Allen and the others.

Soon, the villagers of Horse-herding Village, the prisoners, the warhorses, and all the cattle and sheep appeared on the grassland.

Suddenly freed from restraint, the livestock ran everywhere, causing widespread chaos for a time.

But the herders soon reacted and brought them under control. Experienced from years of handling these animals, they naturally knew how to restore order quickly.

These herders also reacted very differently from the Rhodoks villagers. They showed neither confusion nor unrest.

Instead, they gathered by family, bringing their own possessions and Allen's, and stood quietly where they were, watching Allen on a rise.

Allen did not know who started it, but great groups of herders near him began dropping to their knees and bowing to him, loudly crying out words such as "Heavenly God" and "Tengri."

The same scene spread into the distance, beyond where Allen could see clearly.

Witnessing all this, Firentis's expression shifted from shock to bewilderment, then doubt, and finally resolve.

He looked at his friend beside him, at once familiar and unfamiliar, his face full of embarrassment.

"Allen, my friend," he said, "ever since I met you, I've often seen you do astonishing things, but this is just too..."

At that point, Firentis took a deep breath. Rather than pursue the subject, he continued with sadness on his face, "If you truly are their heavenly god, does my path to redemption lie with you as well?"

In his search for redemption, Firentis had once traveled through most of Calradia's kingdoms. He knew something of the Khergit Kingdom's religion as well.

Although it differed from his own faith, if Allen truly was a god, could he offer him the guidance he needed?

Hearing this, Allen grew even more embarrassed. He knew what weighed on Firentis's heart.

He hastily replied, "I'm no heavenly god, Firentis. Your path to redemption has always lain within you, and so far, I believe you've done very well."

Allen patted Firentis on the shoulder and comforted him. "Don't you raise your longsword so that good people can lead better lives? Don't you work tirelessly for the sake of our friendship? Don't you live simply and endure hardship to find peace of mind? If none of that is redemption, then what is? A god's approval? That would be utterly absurd."

After hearing Allen's comforting words, Firentis sank into thought and asked no further questions.

Seeing Firentis calm down, Allen let out a deep breath of relief.

He knew that compared with the Rhodoks people, the Khergits were more ignorant, savage, and superstitious.

Otherwise, under a system like theirs, they could never have helped those ruthless, rapacious nobles conquer such a vast kingdom.

But he had never imagined that one day people would regard him as some heavenly god. It was genuinely difficult to accept.

That feeling drove Allen to pace about the rise, searching for Tuoju.

Allen soon spotted him. The fellow was enthusiastically prostrating himself on the ground, muttering who knew what.

Allen went over, hauled him to his feet, and said sternly, "Get up right now. I order you to lead the villagers in rebuilding Horse-herding Village immediately. And I don't want to see anyone bowing to me as a heavenly god ever again. Remember, I merely brought you here on a migration. Do you understand?"

Tuoju gazed at Allen with eyes full of fervor. To him, this was a miracle. Everyone had suddenly arrived on this lush grassland. Who but a heavenly god could accomplish that?

Thus, Tuoju responded to Allen's orders with even greater enthusiasm than before. He soon gathered the village's more respected people to discuss rebuilding Horse-herding Village.

Allen did not leave. Instead, he asked Firentis to bring Artimenner over. He himself would remain here and help his new subjects establish their village.

Allen knew something about nomadic peoples' way of life. Their standard of living was poor. For example, they were less able to withstand disasters than farming peoples, and most had no fixed homes.

Their living conditions also often lacked adequate medical care and education, which led to short average lifespans and prevented their civilization from developing effectively.

But there were plenty of advantages too. For instance, their possessions generally included tents.

Those tents were their homes, and these people were exceptionally good at adapting to new environments.

Unlike farming peoples, who became homeless and had no land to cultivate once they left their original homes-and might even have to sell themselves into slavery-Allen's new subjects were remarkably easy to look after in this respect.

Soon, under the herders' care, tents of every description stood across the grassland, and many villagers had already mounted their horses to divide up the pastures.

Only a little over half a day had passed.

Now Allen sat in his own tent, helplessly repeating his instructions to Tuoju. "You must understand that I am no heavenly god. I am your lord. You have to change how the villagers see me. There must absolutely, absolutely be no worshipping me. Understand?"

Tuoju merely nodded beside him, indicating that he understood.

But from the fervor in Tuoju's eyes, Allen could tell that changing the villagers' thinking might take a very long time.

The thought irritated Allen. He waved Tuoju out of the tent and began planning the construction of Horse-herding Village.

Allen wanted to build a village here that combined nomadic herding with farming.

Ideally, dedicated workers would raise the horses, while the other villagers would farm with help from his existing subjects to supplement their household income.

In fact, most of the horses belonged to Allen. They would certainly be used to build a cavalry force and would probably be managed centrally. Letting each household keep a few horses as before was no longer realistic. Some of the cattle and sheep would also be entrusted to Wilderness Town's residents to increase their income.

Allen also hoped these villagers could settle into a stable way of life. They were his subjects now.

He was responsible for them and ought to provide them with better living conditions.

Wilderness Town's medical services were reasonably good at present. Many of Jeremus's apprentices were already capable of working independently.

He could send a few over to oversee medical care here.

The village's construction still needed Artimenner's supervision. Allen had not expected the elderly engineer's workload to keep growing.

Thinking back, Allen realized that Artimenner seemed never to have had a moment's rest since coming here. He was getting on in years now-well into his fifties, nearly sixty, wasn't he?

In that case, this old friend was in remarkably good health. He could still ride all over the place.

Considering Artimenner's importance and his years of hard work and service, Allen decided that if he drew dragon tears this time, he would make Artimenner a bottle of the Elixir of Immortality.

Of course, if his old companion did not wish to accept a long life, Allen would not force him.