Sword Master Who Leapt Through Time - Chapter 31
Only Krnovel
#31 First Steps to an Elite Army
The conference room that had been quiet just a moment ago became noisy.
“Ah… … This knife is really annoying.”
“therefore.”
“Oh, that’s annoying. That means I need to practice!”
After finishing my conversation with Sea, it was almost time for the meeting.
All the younger siblings over 17 years old gathered together, along with Uncle Burson, Rivera, Calceric, and others.
All the essence of Kushan City has gathered here.
In fact, my younger siblings were just taking up seats for the tour, and only about 7 of them actually had a conversation.
The topic of the meeting was recruiting new fighters.
The beginning was opened by Rivera.
“The number of troops that can be mobilized as regular troops in Kushan City is currently 3,400. When Count Ksias was in power, the Kushan City territory army numbered 7,500, so it has been reduced by more than half.”
When I checked the materials he had prepared, the current situation became clear.
‘We need at least 2,000 more people to control the demons, and at least 7,000 more to attack Kashish, where the remnants of Ksias remain? Hmm… … ‘
The reason why Sea had advised against killing them all was clearly written on this piece of paper.
If it were normal, we wouldn’t have been able to save even 500 people, let alone 2,000, over a long period of time.
Well, that problem was solved in one go by unearthing ‘Glowing Steel’.
Rivera also mentioned that point.
“But since we can just recruit soldiers, there’s no need to worry. Even now, warriors are flocking from all over Roberland. What’s more urgent is the lack of high-ranking troops above Expert. They are essential for taking down medium- and large-sized demons, and without them, everything would be useless.”
‘Looking at the numbers, it really is serious… … .’
The more capable the men were, the more they would associate with Ksias and commit all sorts of evil deeds, so they could not avoid being purged.
The number of expert lower-level employees decreased by 80 to 100.
Intermediate level has been reduced from 50 to 10.
The upper ranks were reduced from 25 to 5.
There were six top-class people, but all of them died, leaving only Rivera alive.
Of course, if I add my brothers and Calceric’s four subordinates to this, the situation gets a little better… … but it’s still not enough.
Because we had to get to Kashish.
Mr. Burson interjected, shuffling through some paper.
“Certainly… … there is a problem. Even if they are experts, they should be chosen from the best with strict discipline, but these experts in Roverland are all selfish… … .”
Oh, Burson!
I just softened my words a bit, being conscious of Rivera and Calceric, who are native Roverlanders.
If it were up to us, we would have said, ‘They’re thieves who don’t know honor,’ but they’ve become so tame as to say, ‘They do whatever they want.’
Did you feel it?
Calceric chuckled.
“Can you create an army by selecting people like that? In this Roberland?”
oh,
That is also a remark made with consideration to the position of the prisoner himself.
Didn’t you originally want to say, ‘Anyway, you Gloryland guys… … If you act that way, you’ll most likely get beaten to death’?
anyway,
This was definitely a problem.
I sympathized with Mr. Burson.
What I want is an army that is disciplined and has clear orders, just like the elite soldiers of Gloryland.
To do that, we had to select not only soldiers but also experts who were commanders.
The problem is that we are not in a position to select people right now.
Uncle Burson and Calceric’s gazes met in midair.
The atmosphere is getting slightly warmer.
Rivera tried to lighten the mood with a cool smile.
“Well, shouldn’t we find some compromise?”
It’s a compromise… … .
That’s the realistic way.
however,
Do we need to be realistic?
There is a saying that goes like this since ancient times.
If something doesn’t work out,
Are you short on money? This is a famous saying that makes you think so.
“We will select strictly, whether they are soldiers or experts.”
I declared.
There is no room for disagreement.
“hmm…….”
Calceric frowned,
“Ah, but… … .”
Rivera let out an awkward laugh.
I said solemnly.
“Everyone is overlooking one thing.”
Why do you guys fight over things like this?
“We have a lot of money. A lot of money.”
Money is pouring out of the ancient ruins of Glowing Steel!
“You just need to make sure you get the incentives. Let’s start like this.”
I slammed the documents I was holding down on the desk.
“A regular soldier’s salary is 12 months.”
“!”
“!!”
Not only Calceric and Rivera, who had been showing dissent, but even my brothers all glared at me.
Even Sea chewed on my words once.
“Twelve months. Twelve thousand ounces.”
1 month,
10g of gold.
In other words, it is equivalent to two gold pins, or two 5-gram gold coins.
Most of the citizens of Kushan City barely received one penny a month after paying taxes.
The 12 months are,
A whopping sum of money that would require 120,000 pieces of the smallest currency unit, an iron piece weighing 1 gram.
An ordinary warrior in Robertland would usually earn between five and six dallons a month, and only a skilled elite warrior would earn ten dallons.
But it’s surprising that he declared that even ordinary warriors would be given 12 months if they joined the Yeongji Army.
But this is just the beginning.
“There, elite warriors are paid 15 dollars a month and, after serving for five years, are given ancient swords and armor made of Luceras steel. Good quality, cleanly repaired goods.”
“!”
“!!”
This time everyone’s mouths opened wide.
The ancient sword and armor of the highest quality were treasures worth 1,500 dollars, but even those were hard to obtain even with money due to the limited quantity.
They’re giving it to me for free if I serve for just 5 years.
If you’re a warrior, your eyes can’t help but roll back.
dripping
I tapped the desk lightly with the back of my hand to get his attention.
“What do you think? Do you think I’ll support you even if it’s a bit tight?”
Neither Calceric nor Rivera, who had been expressing opposing opinions, said anything.
Just nodding.
See, if you have a lot of money, you don’t have to worry?
“Okay, decided. Then let’s decide on the salaries of expert-level warriors. Something very radical.”
Everyone looked at me with tired eyes.
I think you may be thinking that it is an excessive investment.
but,
If you want to create a real army, you have to do this much.
An elite regular army with discipline and tactics ingrained into them, capable of standing up to even the Imperial Army.
The best who can use the tactics and strategies thoroughly learned from Uncle Burson when they were young.
War experts who will implement the three war plans created by Sea.
Because that’s the investment for it.
* * *
Announcements were posted all over Kushan City. The new Count Lansen was recruiting regular troops.
“Regular army? Why bother in such an ambiguous city? If you’re going to do that, why not go a little further west and join the Gale King’s army? They’re recruiting on a large scale there too, with good conditions these days.”
“Right. The new count already has a lot of money to spend, so why join the regular army? It’s so frustrating.”
But they didn’t know.
The fact that the new count has not yet spent any money in earnest.
The lukewarm reaction of the warriors completely changed 180 degrees after actually seeing the announcement.
“What the heck?!”
“What is this!”
“Did you read that correctly?”
“Move over, so I can see!”
Whenever a notice was posted to recruit regular soldiers, soldiers flocked in like a flock.
“12 dollars a month? That’s crazy. If you earn like this, you can retire in just 7 years!”
“It’s simple. I’ve been doing it for 10 years!”
“You have to work for 15 years to hear people say you’re rich! Wow… I’ll live my whole life without worrying about money.”
“Huh? Are my eyes weird? Elite warriors… … are given ancient weapons… …? Is that it?”
“crazy!”
When they heard the news of the excavation, 25,000 warriors who had gathered from all over the place were in an uproar.
The whole city was in an uproar.
“Wow… … I was contemplating whether to join the Storm King’s army, and then I came here. I’m so glad I did.”
“I have to do this. If I don’t, I’ll have to take off the thing hanging below.”
“That’s right! Either the one on the bottom or the one on the top, we have to take it off! Let’s go!”
Whether male or female, old or young, everyone eating knife-cut rice flared their nostrils.
Applications for military service began pouring into recruiting stations set up throughout the city.
* * *
A week later.
The square in front of the Yeongju Castle in Kushan City.
I looked around at the crowd of warriors.
There are as many as 20 thousand people.
A staggering number, accounting for 80 percent of all warriors who had flowed into the city.
‘But… …There are fewer experts than I thought?’
I took a quick look, but I couldn’t find anything of the highest level Expert.
There were only about 6 people in the upper level, fewer in the middle level than expected, and a lot in the lower level.
‘It’s all because of the Storm King Harun.’
The King of the Winds who rules over the Ailun region, west of Kushan City.
As he has recently been increasing his military and recruiting warriors on a large scale, many prestigious experts have been attracted to him.
It’s disappointing that the pool of experts that we already have to select is getting smaller.
‘Still, we can’t lower the selection criteria.’
I observed the warriors quietly.
As expected, it was already five minutes before the chaos broke out, as if they were the outlaws of Roverland.
“What are you doing now? Are you going to keep the expert here?”
“No, I’ve been eating Kalbap for 20 years and with these kids… … ”
“What, sir! Should I bump heads with you?!”
“You have to die to know how scary the world is, right?”
During the regular recruitment process, it was customary to select common warriors, elite warriors (Auror users), and experts separately.
But I ignored that and gathered all the warriors together without considering their careers or backgrounds, so it was bound to be noisy.
Dissatisfaction was particularly high among experts.
For them, who were treated well no matter what city they went to, the current situation of being mixed in with ordinary warriors was absurd.
“Come out, Youngju! What is this!”
“You said Young-ju was a kid in his 20s, but he doesn’t seem to know anything! If this continues, we’re going to be in big trouble?!”
Even those who dare to raise their voices by mentioning me.
But I didn’t even bat an eyelash.
‘Say whatever you want. Do you think I treated you like the best for nothing?’
There was only one thing I wanted to see from them right now.
‘Control.’
The ability to control oneself by acting with moderation and thoroughly following orders, rather than acting as one pleases.
We’ve finally cleared out all the city’s thugs, so we can’t bring in new thugs.
The selection program that will be carried out from now on is also focused on ‘control’.
I slowly climbed up onto the rubble of the collapsed castle.
“Wow-”
“right-”
Warriors who were so angry that they dared to jeer at the city’s ruler without hesitation.
but,
“Attention!!”
Kuuuung!
“… … .”
“… … !”
Everyone who had been booing at my one shout shut their mouths.
Because my voice, raised to the level of Aura, alone overwhelmed the jeers of 20,000 warriors.
The shout was so loud that it shook the ground, and the warriors standing close to me turned pale in the face.
Anyway, if you don’t show your skills, these guys will keep crawling up.
I looked at the warriors with an arrogant gaze.
“The first selection test begins now. You will see a collapsed castle in front of you.”
The warriors’ gazes were fixed on the ruined castle of Ksias and the numerous siege ramparts before it.
no way?
Expressions of doing so came across their faces.
Yeah, that’s right.
“From now on, move this pile of stones to the designated location. The weight of the stones you move will be recorded, and the first round of successful candidates will be selected in order of the weight moved.”
That’s great.
We had to clean up the collapsed castle, and 20,000 workers had gathered at that time.
Now they will take care of moving the rubble to the outer area 4km away.
The plan was to then recycle the stone and build a housing complex to accommodate the influx of warriors.
This is like killing two birds with one stone.
The test content was perfect as well.
Because the work of carrying heavy rocks and moving them 4km all day puts the body at its limit.
This will allow you to filter out those with low basic stamina.
Not only that… …
“No, Your Majesty. Is that what you mean now, or is it a trum?”
In this way, we could filter out those who couldn’t tell the difference between heaven and earth.
“No, I have 20 years of experience as a warrior… … and you want me to carry a stone?”
“What should experts do? Can you give us a separate seat?”
The carrot I offered was definitely a sweet one, but that also varies from person to person.
There are people who have the self-control to endure any amount of dissatisfaction for that carrot, and there are people who can’t do that even if they have to be beaten to death.
Elite warriors and experts.
Will they be able to endure the hard labor of moving stones?
The first test is to see how much self-control they have.
so,
I made up my mind from the beginning.
“Why? You don’t want to move the stone?”
When I asked the prominent expert, he answered dissatisfiedly.
“Isn’t that obvious? I’m an expert… … .”
Yeah, I guess so.
Experts. Asymmetrical power that stands at the foundation of all tactics and strategies. Core talents who deserve to be treated well wherever they go. Asking them to do hard work… … It would be strange to convince them.
So I made up my mind.
“Ah, you’re so precious that you don’t want to move the stone? Then why don’t you just leave me alone and get out right now? … Wouldn’t that be okay?”
To treat them as gently as possible.
———
*12 dallons is equivalent to about 12 million won in Korean currency. However, since the average wage in Robertland is about half that of South Korea and taxes are high, 12 dallons are actually worth about 30 million won to the common people of Robertland.
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