One in Three

Blood Fang Tribe.

"Chief, the Great Demon King has come knocking. What should we do now?"

Walsh asked nervously.

To avoid running into the Devil Legion, they had deliberately relocated their tribe.

The results had been clear: the two sides had indeed avoided each other, but the legion had still come knocking.

"When the khanate wages war abroad, it only drafts one able-bodied man in four from the tribes, yet they dare to take one in three.

"Such outrageous conduct shows they have no regard for my Blood Fang Tribal Clan!"

Otis immediately rebuked them in anger.

After cursing them, he sat back down helplessly.

They were familiar with the khanate's rules of the game and knew how to play.

If they wanted to reduce their military service, they could smooth things over with the recruiting officer and hand over some cattle, sheep, and horses.

If the pressure became too great, they could also make up the numbers with slaves.

But they rarely did so, because almost all the wars the khanate had waged in recent years had been raids to the south.

A single trip to the Holy Glory Empire was enough to bring back a fortune.

To obtain more scarce goods, tribes large and small across the grasslands had sent out their elites.

It was precisely because their elites were away that they lacked confidence when facing the Devil Legion.

They wanted to refuse the draft, but feared that the other side would fly into a rage and wipe them out.

"Chief, you mustn't act on impulse!"

"The Devil Legion earned its fearsome reputation through killing.

"Leaving aside their curse techniques, their own fighting strength alone is terrifying.

"I heard the khanate previously assembled an army of a hundred thousand to wipe them out, only for the entire army to be annihilated!"

High Priest Brayden hurriedly urged.

When the authorities released no casualty figures, rumors were free to spread.

The allied army had clearly numbered thirty thousand, but by the time the story reached this place, it had swelled to a hundred thousand.

If it had traveled farther, it would not have been surprising for the number to swell to three or five hundred thousand.

No one doubted it because the journey from the front lines to this place spanned a full ten thousand li.

There were at least eighty, if not a hundred, Tuwu People tribes along the way, including many renowned major tribes.

Those major tribes were not easy to deal with. Even when their "own people" passed through, they would strip them of a layer of fat.

The fact that the Devil Legion could make so many powers obediently let them pass was itself a sign of their strength.

What was more, the Devil Legion had often raided nearby tribes as they passed, and their arrogance could be felt even ten thousand li away.

Now that these harbingers of disaster had suddenly arrived on their own doorstep, it was impossible not to panic.

Without the khanate taking the lead, what could their little tribe of fewer than ten thousand people do to resist them?

"Don't worry, High Priest. I know how serious this is!"

"Before the khanate's reinforcements arrive, my Blood Fang Tribal Clan certainly can't stand up and oppose them.

"But if we agree to the draft outright, I'm afraid they'll demand even more.

"Let's first send an envoy with thirty head of cattle and two hundred sheep to provision their troops and see if there's any room to negotiate."

Otis spoke through gritted teeth.

He had put on a show of toughness, but only for a moment.

Thirty head of cattle and two hundred sheep were no small fortune to the Blood Fang Tribal Clan.

To keep the Devil Legion placated, he had no choice but to do this.

Even if they ultimately had to compromise, the Blood Fang Tribal Clan could not be the first tribe to bow its head. Otherwise, they would have no way to explain themselves to the royal court.

The Third Supplementary Army's main camp.

"Commander, an envoy from the Blood Fang Tribal Clan requests an audience."

"He brought thirty head of cattle and two hundred fat sheep, all top-quality stock."

Seeing no reaction from Victor, Preston added the second part.

Ever since they had sent out draft notices far and wide, envoys from the various tribes had come to visit in an endless stream.

Who got to see him depended entirely on whether they knew how to behave.

It was not that Victor was greedy for money. The main thing was that, since they had all brought generous gifts, he had to make them feel their gifts had not been wasted.

Of course, the main thing still depended on the outcome of the talks.

If they accepted the draft, they were his own people, and Lord Victor never exploited his own people.

All recruits received the same military pay as soldiers of the Third Supplementary Army: an allowance of three silver coins per person per month.

It really was not because he was stingy. That was all the empire gave its supplementary armies.

In practice, they could forget about successfully taking those three silver coins in war allowances home.

The empire provided only the most basic staple food. All expenses for meat, salt, side dishes, clothing, and the like were deducted from the allowance.

Individual soldiers had no say; their generals decided all such arrangements.

Exactly how much was deducted depended entirely on the generals' consciences.

Besides his outstanding military achievements, the most important reasons Victor had won his troops' loyalty were that the army ate well and he did not dock their pay.

In fact, even if he wanted to make deductions, there was nothing to deduct.

They were an isolated army far from home, and their monthly pay could not be delivered at all. He could hardly make the soldiers pay out of their own pockets!

If he had actually done that, his head would have been gone long ago.

There was no need to deduct anything from the Third Supplementary Army's soldiers, but whether to make deductions from these temporarily drafted mercenaries was hard to say.

The allowance was nothing but an empty promise; the empire most likely would not acknowledge the extra military payroll expense.

Victor was flat broke now and had no money to pay the soldiers at all.

He had distributed all the coins previously looted from the Goshawk Tribe and the Cors Tribe as rewards, without keeping a single copper coin for himself.

It was not that he was putting on a show of generosity. The coins they had captured would not have bought even twenty warhorses altogether.

Compared with monetary transactions, the people of the grasslands preferred barter, and currency was not used very often.

Only major tribes that frequently traded with smugglers kept large sums of currency on hand to make settlements easier.

In the empire's heartland, three silver coins could buy roughly two hundred-odd jin of rye or one sheep.

Grain was expensive on the grasslands, but livestock was cheap, so the same sum could buy about two or three sheep.

"Tell the envoy that this recruitment of mercenaries is not for the private benefit of any one family or clan, but to clear obstacles to the human race's development.

"The extermination of the ogres concerns the interests of the entire human race, and everyone should do their part.

"We of the Holy Glory Empire are willing to take the lead. As fellow members of the human race, the Tuwu People cannot stay out of it either.

"As a rule, the number of able-bodied men called up cannot be reduced, but since they know how to behave, we can cut it by a hundred.

"If they can send the men over within three days, strong, able-bodied slaves will count too."

Victor spoke after thinking it over.

Having already met with several tribal envoys, he had long since seen through what these people were thinking.

They were simply worried that their tribesmen would suffer heavy losses after accepting the draft.

Continuing to meet them would serve no purpose other than wasting time.

Using the campaign to wipe out the ogres as a pretext was not enough to make them risk their lives.

Raising the banner of the human race's greater cause merely gave them a way to compromise without losing face.

The promise to reduce the quota and let them make up the numbers with slaves was meant to set an example.

It would show the other Tuwu People tribes that, as long as they cooperated willingly, the Devil Legion could be reasonable too.

That alone was not enough. To truly achieve his goal, he still had to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys.