The Amaranth troop and the Sollum troop really became just like one.
They named four more hundred-man commanders with the newly entered troop.
Meanwhile, Semi recognized Austin’s solid commanding.
And this was possible because Semi, who was a troop commander, took one step back.
There weren’t many troubles because the Sollum troop wasn’t forced to follow them, but they chose to do so themselves.
Roan mixed the troop members among themselves, even while taking into account to decrease the manpower.
And of course, after that, they continued to become stronger every day.
Now, Sollum troop existed no more.
Only one.
Amaranth troop became the only troop in the region of Tale.
Flock! Flock!
Two flags of different colors waved.
And at the same time, tens of hundred-man squads moved busily.
Infantry and archers gathered and separated.
Even when there were approximately 800 soldiers, you couldn’t hear anything noisy.
They only gave and received orders through the flags and signals.
And Roan looked at that from a high place.
‘They became accustomed to it faster than I thought.’
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Actually, he was kind of worried when he first received Sollum troop.
He was worried about them not being able to catch up with the training.
But fortunately enough, the Sollum troop members showed great skill in adaptability.
‘In this region of Tale, you get weeded out if you can’t adapt, and if you get weeded out, you die.’
Roan, who was looking down at the training ground raised his right hand.
Flock!
The flags that were waving at the sides crossed each other.
At that moment, the members of Amaranth troop took formation and organized themselves properly.
This was the end of troop training.
The movements were smooth and quick to the point you became amazed, but there were no changes in Roan’s expression.
“After finishing training, study the signals between each ten man groups.”
“Yes! Understood.”
Several hundred-man commanders replied in one voice.
Roan nodded with a satisfied expression and moved away.
“Pant. Pant. Pant.”
Rough breaths were heard in several places, as if they were waiting for it.
And most of them were made by the members of Sollum troop.
‘It’s really an unbelievable training.’
They had the feeling that they wanted to lay down immediately.
But they couldn’t do so.
No, they didn’t want to do so.
‘Anyways, we’re getting strong.’
‘We’re starting to coordinate.’
They had the feeling that they were getting stronger.
Although it was physically exhausting, their mentality at least was clear.
“We finished training with the hundred-man groups.”
The voices of the hundred-man commanders were heard.
The nine squads moved busily.
The troop members caught their breath and cooled down their muscles when Roan got out of the headquarters.
The place the head of the horse was heading to was the north entrance.
You could see sloppy wooden fences over there.
‘Because of Count Lancephil’s consideration, I can properly breath a little better.’
Originally, there had to be surveillance soldiers following the boundary of the territory.
However Io trusted in Roan and the Amaranth troop.
‘But even so, I can’t act as I please.’
Roan didn’t leave the Tale region as he wished.
As he approached the fences, he saw a familiar face.
“Troop commander.”
“Mister Pens.”
It was Pens of Chris’s agency.
Roan shook his hand at the welcoming feeling.
They exchanged greetings with the fence between them.
“Is the establishment going well?”
Roan was training the troop, subjugating the monsters, and at the same time, proceeding with the work of Chris’s agency.
Pens laughed awkwardly and fell to the sides.
“Talk that between you two.”
“Huh?”
When Roan tilted his head, he saw a familiar face behind Pens.
A smile appeared on Roan’s mouth.
“Mister Chris.”
“It’s really been a while. Troop commander Roan.”
A bright and clear voice.
The owner of the bright face was Chris.
*****
The torch in the walls pushed back the darkness.
A disgusting smell pinched the tip of your nose.
There were chains in the dirty wall.
Prison.
It certainly was a prison.
“What is this look.”
A regretful voice and expression rang out.
A middle aged man with luxurious clothes put his hand inside the bars.
Although there was a guard behind him, he didn’t stop him.
“Count Chase. There’s really no face.”
The dirty look of the middle aged man who was bowing.
Surprisingly enough, he was Benjamin Doyle.
Chulg.
Every time Benjamin moved, the chains on his wrists, neck, and ankles shook.
“Count Chase. Pl, please don’t throw me away. Ge, get me out of here.”
The expression and voice that couldn’t be earnest and was even mean.
The middle aged man with luxurious clothes, Jonathan Chase, patted Benjamin’s hand.
“Don’t worry. Is our relationship a normal one?”
He pretended to be aware of his surroundings and then lowered his voice.
“I’m convincing some n.o.bles myself. In this situation what the seat of supreme commander of the eastern region, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Io Lancephil, took away as he wished, will be yours.”
“Ah…….”
Benjamin bowed with a moved expression.
“Thank you. Really thank you. I will certainly pay back this grace.”
“Oho. How can you use that word in our relationship?”
Jonathan laughed.
“I prepared good food aside, so you just take care of your body.”
He spoke in a warm voice and with consideration.
Benjamin was now about to cry.
“I will only believe and follow Count Chase until I die.”
“Hahaha.”
Janathan burst out in laughter.
“Then, let’s meet outside of the prison next time.”
“Yes. I will accompany you to a good place then.”
Benjamin bowed.
Jonathan looked at that sight for a moment and then slowly moved his feet.
The guard who was at the back, followed Jonathan.
Clunk!
The entrances that were closed stiff opened up consecutively.
“Mm.”
Jonathan frowned at the bright sunshine.
He took out a small gla.s.s bottle from his chest.
The expression that was warm and that of a good person had disappeared instantly.
A fierce and scary eyes.
“Get rid of him without any mistakes.”
Jonathan handed over the bottle to the guard.
The guard just bowed without saying anything and moved inside the prison.
Clunk!
The entrance closed alongside the sound of metal.
“Benjamin you stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
Jonathan started to curse aloud.
Then, a long shadow appeared from the sides.
“Is there a need to kill him?”
The owner of the voice was an old man starting to age.
He was an underling serving Jonathan and the chandler of the Chase family, Hoose.
“Don’t speak of what you don’t know. It’s not one or two things he’s messed up. If he says that he would keep his hereditary t.i.tle, even I would be in danger.”
“Well, it’s something Count Lancephil is cautious about.”
The chandler slowly nodded.
Jonathan’s expression stiffened.
“Io Lancephil. Who was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that old man got interested in?”
“He’s called Roan.”
He replied with a short answer.
Jonathan moved his feet and spit on the ground.
“Roan. Thoroughly investigate into that b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
“He’s merely a commoner and a troop commander.”
At the chandler’s words, Jonathan stopped walking.
He turned to look at the chandler and said in a fierce voice.
“Benjamin Doyle was done in by that mere troop commander commoner? On top of that, his merits and rumors aren’t normal. I’m also bothered that he’s got the interest of Io Lancephil.”
By then, the chandler could only step back.
“I understand. I will thoroughly investigate like you said.”
Only then did Jonathan start to walk again.
You could feel his annoyance in each of his steps.
‘Io Lancephil.’
Ududuk.
He ground his teeth.
‘As you cut down one of my men, I’ll also do the same for you.’
The adversary was his political enemy and a rival of another family, Io Lancephil.
He didn’t think at all to let it pa.s.s.
The wind that started to blow in the eastern region of the kingdom also blew in the capital of Miller.
It was a cooler and sharper wind than the wind of winter.
*****
Roan and Chris held hands and asked how they had been for quite a while.
“I have been a bit late because I was befriending the orcs of the southern region in Byron kingdom.”
“You’ve really worked hard.”
Roan appreciated Chris’s hard work.
Because of Chris, he could finish the tedious war faster than what he thought.
“From now on, I will proceed with the work of the agency.”
At Chris’s words, Roan nodded.
They were trustable and relieving words.
“For now, I’m planning to establish a point near the region of Tale.”
At Roan’s words, Chris shook his head.
“I think it would be better to wait a bit more for that.”
It was composed, but had some expectations in his expression.
Roan saw Chris’s face and tilted his head.
Chris smiled faintly and said.
“By now, the trial of Benjamin Doyle is occurring in the capital of Miller.”
“Ah…..”
A low exclamation came out of Roan’s mouth.
Chris continued saying.
“It seems like with the help of Count Lancephil and corps commander Tate, everything Benjamin messed up is coming out. The chances of his t.i.tle of n.o.bility being deprived is high.”
At those words, Roan nodded.
He had kind of expected that part.
“On top of that, there’s a report saying that the reason Byron kingdom retreated is because of your plan.”
“Huh?”
Roan had a surprised expression.
He bitterly smiled and shook his head.
“That’s something you worked hard to do. It’s not my merits.”
“That’s not right.”
Chris hurriedly shook his hands.
“I just did as you ordered me to do so.”
He smiled brightly and continued saying.
“Anyways, if Benjamin gets his t.i.tle deprived and your merits get reevaluated, the exile can become a bit lighter.”
Lighter.
It was only that.
Even if it was an unreasonable and stupid order, when he resorted to violence, Benjamin was still a n.o.ble.
Because of that, it wouldn’t happen that Roan would be completely withdrawn from the exile.
But there were high probabilities of his penalty being lowered.
Chris’s voice became low.
“With that condition, Count Lancephil has given the opinion of getting you in charge of the region of Tale.”
Right now, Io had given the punishment with the authority as a Count.
But if it proceeded as Io’s will, Roan would get his punishment decreased by the orders of the royal palace, and formally get appointed to the subjugation of the monsters of the Tale region.
Also, he would become free in deciding the entrance and the coming and going of the region of Tale.
But of course, he couldn’t do anything about him being labeled as a sinner until it was completely pardoned.
“If only that happens, won’t it be good to move your agency’s headquarters all the way to this region?”
There was no need to put it in a nearby region.
“For now it would be best to check the situation.”
“Yes. That would be good.”
At Roan’s words, Chris nodded.
Roan fell into his thoughts for a moment.
‘Establishing an alchemist guild, the head office of Chris’s office, and the offices for each branch in the region of Tale is the most beneficial thing…….’
He had already planned to establish a force in the region of Tale anyways.
On top of that.
‘The end of the southern region of Tale meets with Poskein lake.’
Although there was quite some distance with the village of Perr, where Daiv was located at, it was the most suitable place to enter Poskein lake after this.
Roan ended his thoughts and looked at Chris.
“Good. For now, let’s wait until a decision is made in the capital. But before that….”
Just because of that, he couldn’t just wait while sucking his fingers.
He calmly told Chris all the plans he had set up until now.
Chris hurriedly started to write down notes at the plans that were more complex than what he thought.
And among them, there obviously was the investment on the five merchants, the investment in Daiv and the sailors a.s.sociation, and the gathering of alchemists and other skilled people.
“Oh, how is mister Ford’s progress in the mining industry?”
The only one that kept failing consecutively among the five was Ford.
Chris smiled faintly and replied.
“Fortunately, he did discover a small metal mine. The size isn’t that big but as the abilities and skills are good, there’s more production than the other mines.”
“He certainly was a person with talent.”
Chris nodded at Roan’s words.
“Yes. He’s someone that will become big if he only finds a proper and a big mine.”
“Then……”
Roan said as if he was whispering and said.
“There’s a mountain called Montea in the western part of Count Lancephil’s territory. It’s a mountain that no one has put their hands on yet.”
“Montea mountain……”
Chris noted it down meticulously.
“Buy mining rights with the jewels I gave you.”
“It seems like there’s something over there?”
Chris asked with a nervous expression.
‘There’s a magic stone mine over there.’
It was a mine that would be discovered three years from now .
He clearly remembered it as it was news that could make the entire continent tremble.
‘But of course, I don’t know the exact location…..’
Finding the exact location was Ford’s job.
Roan forcefully hid his emotions and shrugged his shoulders.
“Even I don’t know that. I only heard that several miners wanted to mine in it once.”
This was the truth.
But of course, it wasn’t because they were certain or anything.
Wanting to try, thinking of maybe, that was the bigger side.
“Then, I think that quite a lot of miners should already have tried.”
These were Chris’s words.
Roan shook his head.
“No. That’s not true. Because the Lancephil family doesn’t sell mining rights.”
And it wasn’t only for Montea mountain.
Excluding three or four mountains that were in the territory of the Lancephil family, they didn’t sell mining rights at all.
Because there was no need to mine anymore and in the first place, they weren’t interested in that part.
“Ah……”
A low exclamation came out of Chris’s mouth.
Roan took out a small envelope from his chest.
“It’s a letter i’m sending to Count Lancephil. It’s a kind of recommendation letter. Take that and go find the count.”
“You’re telling me to go and convince him.”
“Yes. If it’s you, you will be able to do it.”
No, precisely speaking, the convincing finished with Roan’s letter.
If it was Roan who Io appreciated, he would send the mining rights without problems.
On top of that, there were also other contents written in it.
‘There are more reasons as to why we have to develop Montea mountain.’
Several things happen in the Lancephil family five years from now on.
And one of them is the territory battle with Count Chase, who was located at their west.
One year after this battle occurred.
A change happens in the Lancephil family.
‘If it’s Count Lancephil, he would understand the contents very well.’
Roan wrote that they should raise a fortress with Montea castle as the center.
He also included the reason why they should build a fortress and the things that would happen after that day.
Because he didn’t know how the future would change.
For now, he could only prepare for that.
‘If our side is the one to build the fortress…….’
The gathering of skilled people would lighten up.
The scale of this was getting bigger.
‘We are in a time where we slowly need more geniuses.’
The geniuses that were still hidden would start to appear.
Roan clearly remembered their existences.
‘If it gets remitted and the entrance to the region is allowed, I have to find the hidden existences.’
But that wasn’t all.
‘What’s as important as that is raising those people myself.’
He also had to slowly focus on the education of his troop members.
“Whew.”
A long sigh came out on its own.
There were just too many things he had to do.
But because of that, it wasn’t that he was annoyed.
Rather, his entire body heated up.
He had a feeling that he was accomplishing things.
‘Let’s work harder.’
Now was the time to work more earnestly.
Roan looked at Chris and extended his hand.
“Mister Chris. I will be asking of you.”
“Yes. I will do my best.”
Chris grabbed his hand and bowed.
The papers he was holding was felt heavily.
The notes written down meticulously.
Chris was really amazed.
‘If troop commander Roan’s plans all succeed…….’
He would be able to establish a more solid base than anyone.
Chris took in a deep breath.
‘He’s not someone to just end as a troop commander, or as a corps commander.’
His heart beat.
‘The best thing I did since I was born…….’
Chris raised his head and looked at Roan.
The hand he was holding felt hard and warm.
‘Was grabbing troop commander Roan’s hands.’
A smile appeared on his face.
He wanted to run to Lancephil’s territory right away.
He wanted to do anything for Roan.
“Then. I will see you later.”
Chris bid his farewell and left to the castle.
And Roan also returned to his HQ.
The two people waited for the judgement to be laid down in the capital of Miller and they did their best in their jobs.
And five days flowed by like that.
< Establishing a base (1) > End
Translator’s note: Regular chapter!
Translator : Subak
Proofreader: st8_lupe.